One  thousand  copies  of  this  book  have  been 
printed  from  type  and  the  type  distributed. 


ROGER   SHERMAN 

From   a   painting  by    Ralph  Earle,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles 
Atwood  White  of  Xew  Haven 


TWO  CENTURIES  OF 


CONNECTICUT 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  TOWN  HELD  JUNE 

15,  16, 17  AND  18,  1907,  WITH  A  NUMBER 

OF     HISTORICAL     ARTICLES    AND 

REMINISCENCES 


PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE  HISTORICAL 
COMMITTEE  BY  VARIOUS  CITIZENS  OF  NEW  MILFORD  AND 
BY  THE  EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  GRAFTON  PRESS 


COPYRIGHT,  1907 
BY  THE  GRAFTON   PRESS 


CONTENTS 

PART     I 
THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION.     By  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS 3 

The  first  settlers  of  New  Milford.  Zachariah  Ferriss 
sued  for  trespass.  John  Reed  and  his  career.  Organizing 
a  township.  Organizing  a  church  and  calling  a  minister. 
The  sturdy  character  of  the  Fathers.  Noted  men.  Roger 
Sherman.  The  splendid  heritage  of  New  Milford. 

GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY.    By 

CHARLOTTE  BALDWIN  BENNETT 8 

The  site  of  New  Milford  two  hundred  years  ago.  The 
character  and  career  of  John  Noble.  The  Boardman  well. 
The  first  minister  and  the  first  meetinghouse.  The  union 
of  town  and  church.  "  Seating  and  dignifying  the  meet- 
inghouse." People  called  to  church  by  a  drum.  The 
tithing-man.  The  Sabbath-day  house.  Importance  of  the 
minister.  The  first  Episcopal  services.  The  Separatists. 
The  Baptists.  The  Methodists.  The  Quakers.  The  dif- 
ferent church  edifices.  Church  music.  The  schools.  The 
singing  schools.  The  early  wars.  A  romance  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Illustrious  visitors.  Social  life  after  the  war. 
Anecdote  of  Parson  Taylor.  Transportation.  Main  street 
nearly  a  century  ago.  Beautifying  "  The  Green."  The 
village  doctor.  Slavery.  The  "  Underground  Railroad." 
The  Civil  War.  The  fire  of  1902. 

THE     OWNERS     OF     NEW     MILFORD.      By   GEN. 

HENRY  STUART  TURRILL 22 

Proprietors  to  the  amount  of  £1,  4s.  Proprietors  to  the 
amount  of  12s. 

TWO      HUNDRED      YEARS      AGO.      (POEM).       By 

SARAH    SANFORD  BLACK 24 

THE     TWO    ABIGAILS.      By   GEN.    HENRY    STUART 

TURRILL 26 

Caleb  Terrill  settles  in  New  Milford.  Major  Turrill. 
Marriage  of  Caleb  Terrill  and  Abigail  Bassett  in  Strat- 
ford. Caleb  and  Abigail  visit  Caleb's  family  at  Milford. 
They  mount  the  "  Great  River."  Halt  at  "  the  Cove." 
The  home  on  Second  Hill.  The  wonderful  life  of  Abigail. 
The  career  of  Abigail  Ufford. 


vi  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

NEW  MILFORD   IN  THE  WARS.    By  GEN.  HENRY 

STUART  TURRILL 'i     .     .     .      31 

Military  inactivity  of  the  first  fifty  years.  The  first  com- 
pany in  New  Milford.  Arduousness  of  the  train-band  serv- 
ice. The  Second  Company.  Tenth  Company  of  Col.  David 
Wooster's  Third  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Levy.  Other 
Companies.  The  Eleventh  Company  of  the  Fourth  Regi- 
ment. The  Tenth  Company  of  the  Second  Regiment. 
Captain  Joseph  Canfield's  Company.  The  good  understand- 
ing with  the  Indians.  The  most  prominent  names  in  military 
affairs.  The  first  company  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  Revolution.  Its  history  indefinite.  Captain  Isaac  Bost- 
wick's  Company.  The  Nineteenth  Regiment  of  Connecticut 
Line.  Part  played  in  the  movements  about  New  York.  At 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek.  Tradition  of  a  sergeant's  guard 
under  the  command  of  David  Buell.  The  capture  of  Fort 
Washington.  New  Milford  men  made  prisoners  of  war. 
Confined  in  a  barn.  The  Old  Sugar  House  Prison.  Prison 
hardships.  Roger  Blaisdell's  pork  barrel.  The  prison-ship 
Button.  Arrival  of  the  surviving  prisoners  in  New  Milford. 
Captain  Bostwick's  company  about  Philadelphia.  The  Dan- 
bury  alarm.  Captain  Daniel  Pendleton's  company.  The 
stay-at-homes.  The  leading  families  in  the  Revolution. 
Engagements  in  which  New  Milford  men  participated.  New 
Milford  soldiers  refreshed  by  Deacon  Gaylord.  New  Mil- 
ford  men  at  Stony  Point.  The  old  age  of  David  Buell. 
Reunions  of  old  soldiers  at  the  home  of  John  Turrill.  The 
adventures  of  Stephen  Turrill. 

THE  COLONIAL,  WARS 45 

New  Milford  men  in  the  Colonial  Wars  as  given  in  the 
Connecticut  Historical  Society  rolls. 

THE  REVOLUTION  .     .  ". 49 

Muster  roll  of  a  company  said  to  have  been  raised  in 
New  Milford  and  to  have  formed  a  part  of  Colonel  An- 
drew Ward's  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia.  Roll  of 
Captain  Isaac  Bostwick's  company,  Seventh  Company, 
Sixth  Regiment,  of  Connecticut  Line.  Men  who  crossed  the 
Delaware  with  Captain  Isaac  Bostwick  and  were  in  the 
battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  Officers  and  men  from 
New  Milford  who  served  in  the  Sixth  Company  of  the 
Fourth  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Line.  New  Milford  men 
who  served  in  Lieutenant-Colonel  Josiah  Starr's  Regiment, 
Connecticut  Line.  New  Milford  men  who  were  in  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Samuel  Canfield's  Regiment  of  Connecticut 
Militia  at  West  Point  in  1781.  New  Milford  men  who 
served  in  Connecticut  Regiment  of  Pioneers.  New  Milford 
men  who  served  in  Col.  Moses  Hazen's  Regiment,  Con- 
necticut Militia.  New  Milford  men  who  served  in  the  Fifth 
Troop,  Shelden's  Dragoons.  New  Milford  men  who  served 
in  Second  Regiment,  Connecticut  Line.  Company  of  forty 
volunteers.  New  Milford  men  in  Captain  Charles  Smith's 
company.  General  David  Waterbury's  State  Regiment. 
Lieutenant  John  Phelps's  Troop  of  Horse.  New  Milford 


CONTENTS  vii 

PAGE 

men  in  Sixth  Company,  Fourth  Regiment,  Continental  Line. 
New  Milford  Men  in  Captain  Kimberley's  Company,  Sec- 
ond Regiment,  Continental  Line.  New  Milford  men  who 
served  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Canfield  in  the  Tryon  in- 
vasion. New  Milford  members  of  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati. 

THE    WAR    OF    1812      .      .     .     .     .     .     .-    .     .     .     .       58 

THE    MEXICAN    WAR 53 

THE    CIVIL    WAR 54 

List  of  men  from  New  Milford  who  had  service  in  the 
Civil  War.  Recapitulation. 

THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR  66 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HOMES. 

By  ALICE  MERWIN  BOSTWICK        67 

The  pre-Revolutionary  houses.  The  great  chimney.  The 
good  cooking  of  the  early  days.  The  hard  work.  The 
quilting  bee.  The  shoemaker.  The  schoolmaster.  Homeless 
wanderers.  Indians  from  the  Reservation.  The  calls  of  the 
parson.  Visiting.  Sunday.  Fast  Day.  Thanksgiving.  The 
long  winters.  Comparison  of  the  life  then  and  now. 

UNCHARTERED    INSTITUTIONS.       By    FREDERIC 

KNAPP 75 

The  general  "  sitting-down "  place.  Levi  Knapp's  store. 
Its  influence.  Remarkable  longevity  of  its  habitues. 

TRAINING   DAYS   IN   THE   'FORTIES,  AS  TOLD 

BY  AN  OLD  BOY.   By  FREDERIC  KNAPP.     ...      78 

Emerson's  appreciation  of  boys.  Training  day  the  day 
of  the  year.  Off  for  a  good  time.  On  the  parade-ground. 
At  the  tavern.  The  evolutions  of  the  train-band.  The  les- 
sons taught. 

REMARKABLE  LONGEVITY  OF  NEW  MILFORD 

CITIZENS.    My  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS 81 

ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS      84 

Original  extent  of  New  Milford.  Well  watered  and 
fertilized.  Beauty  of  the  landscape.  Growth  of  the  town. 
The  production  of  milk  and  butter.  Account  of  the  to- 
bacco industry,  by  Vincent  B.  Sterling.  The  hatting  in-  . 
dustry.  The  button  industry.  The  furniture  industry.  The 
manufacture  of  machinery.  Paper  making.  Grist  mills 
and  saw  mills.  The  iron  industry.  Cloth  making.  Oper- 
ations in  wood  and  lumber.  Quarrying  and  burning  lime  rock. 
The  electric  light  plant.  The  New  Milford  Power  Company. 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Pottery  making.  Account  of  the  Bridgeport  Wood  Finishing 
Company  by  George  B.  Calhoun.  Education  in  New  Milford. 
The  early  schools.  The  Housatonic  Institute.  Adelphi  In- 
stitute. The  Center  School.  The  first  kindergarten.  The 
Ingleside  School.  The  New  Milford  churches.  The  Memo- 
rial Hall  and  Library.  The  New  Milford  newspapers.  The 
New  Milford  Brass  Band.  Roger  Sherman  Hall.  The 
banks.  The  Agricultural  Society.  The  water  supply.  The 
fire  department.  The  fires  of  New  Milford.  The  fire  of 
1902.  Recovering  from  the  fire  of  1902.  Recent  growth 
and  improvements. 

THE  STORY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  TOLD  IN 
CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME.  By  RUSSELL  B. 
NOBLE  AND  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS 98 

RECORD  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICES  OF  ROGER 

SHERMAN.     By  HON.  EBENEZER  J.  HILL      .      .115 


PART   II 

THE   BI-CENTENNIAL   EXERCISES 
INCEPTION  AND   ORGANIZATION. 

Call  for  a  meeting  in  the  New  Milford  Gazette.  The  meet- 
ing. Preamble  and  resolution  adopted.  Further  action  of 
the  meeting.  Meeting  of  the  General  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments on  July  6,  1906.  Action  of  this  meeting.  Officers. 
Sub-committees.  Duties  of  sub-committees.  Assessments. 
Other  sub-committees.  Names  of  the  officers  and  members 
of  the  General  Committee  of  Arrangements.  The  members 
of  the  special  committees.  The  work  accomplished  by  the 
various  committees.  The  Finance  Committee.  The  Execu- 
tive Committee.  The  Committee  on  Exercises.  The  appoint- 
ment of  district  committees.  Names  of  the  members  of  the 
• '  district  committees.  The  Committee  on  Refreshments. 
The  Committee  on  Decorations.  The  Committee  on  Publicity. 
The  Committee  of  Invitation,  Reception  and  Entertainment. 
The  Committee  on  Religious  Observances.  The  Committee 
of  Public  Safety.  The  Historical  Committee.  The  Loan 
Exhibit  Committee.  The  Committee  on  Colonial  Features. 
The  Committee  on  Colonial  Reception.  The  Committee  on 
Vocal  Music.  Rest  houses.  Committee  of  Public  Health 
•  and  Comfort.  Marshal's  aides.  Faithfulness  and  efficiency 
of  the  committees. 

THE     OPENING     EXERCISES      .......    136 

The  weather.  Beauty  of  the  decorations  on  "  The  Green." 
The  Doxology  rendered  by  the  chimes  of  all  Saints'.  The 
Invocation.  Address  of  welcome  by  Charles  N.  Hall.  The 
flag-raising. 


IX 

PAGE 

140 


CONTENTS 
THE     LOAN     EXHIBITION  .     .     .     .     ... 

Richness  of  the  collection.  Source  of  joy  to  the  aged  and 
a  means  of  instruction  for  the  young.  An  exemplification 
of  public  spirit.  Possibility  of  a  permanent  museum.  A 
complete  list  of  the  exhibits. 

THE  OLD  HOME  GATHERING     .....     .     .    170 

Address  of  welcome  by  W.  Frank  Kinney.  The  exercises. 
Poem  by  Mary  Murdoch  Mason.  Cablegram  from  Frank 
Hine.  Letter  from  Henry  S.  Mygatt. 

OUR  FOREFATHERS.   (POEM.)    By  CHARLES  N.  HALL    175 


THE   SUNDAY   EXERCISES 176 

Preaching  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  Sermon  of  Rev. 
Frank  A.  Johnson  in  the  First  Congregational  Church. 
Hymn  by  Charlotte  Baldwin  Bennett.  Sermon  by  Rev. 
Samuel  Hart,  D.  D.,  in  St.  John's  Episcopal  Church.  Ser- 
mon by  Rev.  S.  D.  Woods  in  the  Baptist  Church.  Sermon 
by  Rev.  H.  K.  Smith  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Sermon  by  Rev.  Orville  Van  Keuren  in  the  Gaylordsville 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Sermon  by  Rev.  E.  Z.  Ellis  in 
the  Advent  Christian  Church.  Sermon  by  Father  Ryan  in 
the  Catholic  Church.  The  Union  meeting.  Address  by  Rev. 
Frederick  A.  Wright  of  New  York.  The  evening  services. 
The  services  at  All  Saints'  Memorial  Church.  Sermon  by 
Rev.  Charles  J.  Ryder,  D.  D.,  of  New  York  in  the  First 
Congregational  Church.  Sermon  by  Rev.  George  S.  Bennitt, 
D.  D.,  in  St.  John's  Church. 


THE    AUTOMOBILE    PARADE 


A  bold  experiment.  Unqualified  success.  The  owners  of 
the  cars.  The  prize  winners.  The  decorations  of  the  various 
cars. 


227 


THE    HISTORICAL    MEETING .228 

Greeting  by  Frederic  M.  Williams.  Address  by  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Hart.  Introduction  of  Chief  Justice  Baldwin  by  Mr. 
Williams.  Address  on  "  Roger  Sherman  "  by  Chief  Justice 
Baldwin.  Introduction  of  Hon.  Daniel  Davenport.  Mr. 
Davenport's  address. 


THE  COLONIAL  RECEPTION 275 

The  arrival  of  Governor  Woodruff.  The  dinner  at  Ingle- 
side  School.  Arrival  of  the  gubernatorial  party  at  Roger 
Sherman  Hall.  List  of  persons  who  assisted  in  receiving. 
The  ordering  of  the  reception.  Brilliancy  of  the  spectacle. 
The  dancing.  Governor  Woodruff  entertained  by  various 
organizations. 


x  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

GOVERNOR'S  DAY 277 

Temporary  population  of  New  Milford.  The  weather. 
The  Civic  and  Military  Parade.  Formation  of  Parade. 
Its  distinguishing  and  memorable  features.  The  school 
floats.  The  Colonial  floats.  The  industrial  floats.  The  re- 
view. The  last  formal  exercises  on  "  The  Green."  Intro- 
duction of  Rev.  Timothy  J.  Lee  by  Charles  M.  Beach.  Re- 
marks of  Mr.  Lee.  Introduction  of  Governor  Woodruff. 
Address  of  Governor  Woodruff.  Presentation  of  Rev.  Wat- 
son L.  Phillips,  D.  D.  Eulogy  of  the  Foot  Guard  by  Dr. 
Phillips.  Presentation  of  Hon.  E.  J.  Hill.  Address  of 
Congressman  Hill.  Remarks  by  Rev.  Mannaduke  Hare. 
Concluding  remarks  by  Mr.  Beach.  The  fireworks. 

THE    AFTERMATH      .......     ;     ...    295 

Retrospect  in  the  New  Milford  Gazette.  Letter  from 
Governor  Woodruff  to  Charles  M.  Beach.  Letter  from 
J.  Moss  Ives  to  H.  Le  Roy  Randall. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Roger  Sherman;  reproduced  from  a  painting      .       .      Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Minot    S.    Giddings;    Dr.    George    H.    Wright;    the    Knapp 

Residence 4 

Elijah  Boardman          6 

Congregational  Church,  with   Residences  of   Rev.   Nathaniel 

Taylor  and  Nathaniel  Taylor,  Jr 14 

Jehiel   Williams,    M.    D 18 

Sally    Northrop ;    David    Curtis    Sanf  ord ;    Henry    Seymour 

Sanford;  William  Dimon  Black 20 

The  First  Well  in  the  Town  of  New  Milford       ....  24 

Falls  Bridge  and  the  Gorge 28 

Henry  Stuart  Turrill 44 

Charles  D.  Blinn         54 

Levi  Sydney  Knapp         74 

Alanson    N.    Canfield 76 

William  J.  Starr          80 

New  Milford  Hat  Company 84 

Honorable  Isaac  Baldwin  Bristol      ........  86 

United  Bank  Building 88 

Manufacturing  Plant  of  the  Bridgeport  Wood  Finishing  Com- 
pany             90 

Views  of  Ingleside  School.  Post-graduate  Department;  Ingle- 
side  Bungalow;  Foundation  House 92 

Andrew  B.  Mygatt 9* 

New  Milford  after  the  Fire 96 

Captain  Garry  Brooks 102 

Rev.  Noah  Porter,  D.  D.,  LL.  D 110 

John  Prime  Treadwell 112 

Henry  S.   Mygatt 120 

Seymour  S.   Green;   Stephen   C.   Beach;   Andrew  G.   Barnes; 

Francis   E.   Baldwin 124 

H.    Leroy    Randall;    W.    F.    Kinney;    Frederick    E.    Starr; 

Charles  P.  Bentley          128 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING   PAGE 

Edwin  G.  Clemence;  Miss  Adaline  L.  Buck;  Charles  J.  Ryder, 

D.  D.;  Henry  Donnelly 132 

Charles  N.  Hall;  Charles  M.  Beach  .  ...  .  .  .  136 

Roger  Sherman  Hall  and  Church  Street 170 

Some  New  Milford  Churches.  Methodist  Episcopal;  Baptist, 

Northville ;     Methodist,     Gaylordsville ;     Saint     Francis 

Xavier 176 

Saint  John's  Church  182 

Advent  Christian  Church        ..........      1Q6 

New  Milford  Pastors.  Rev.  Frank  B.  Draper;  Rev.  Timothy 

J.  Lee;  Rev.  Harris  K.  Smith;  Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare; 

Rev.    Frank   A.    Johnson;    Rev.    John    F.    Plumb;    Rev. 

Father  John  J.   Burke;   Rev.   Solomon   D.   Woods;   Rev. 

Stephen  Heacock .  .  .  .  202 

Memorial  Building  and  Public  Library;  All  Saints'  Memorial 

Church 208 

Hon.  Simecn  E.  Baldwin 232 

Egbert  Marsh;  Hon.  Daniel  Davenport  254 

Governor  Woodruff,  Staff  and  Guard,  in  front  of  Roger 

Sherman   Hall      .  '    .      .      .      .      .      .      ...      .      .      276 

Samuel  R.  Hill;  Samuel  Randolph  Hill,  Jr.  .....  278 

Main  Street  from  the  North 280 

Main  Street  from  the  South        .........      282 

Honorable  Rollin  S.  Woodruff  286 


PART   I 
THE   PAST   AND   PRESENT 


INTRODUCTION 

Two  hundred  years  ago,  in  the  summer  of  1707,  the  pioneer 
John  Noble,  with  his  little  daughter,  made  his  way  through 
the  wilderness  from  Westfield,  Mass.,  and  set  up  his  rude  cabin 
in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Weantinock,  on  the  west  side  of 
"  Stratford  "  River,  under  the  shadow  of  Fort  Hill,  near  neigh- 
bor to  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  became  very  friendly.  He 
trusted  their  friendship  so  much  that  he  left  his  daughter  in 
their  care  while  he  went  on  a  journey,  following  the  Indian 
trail  through  the  wilderness  to  Albany,  to  pilot  some  gentlemen ; 
and,  on  his  return,  he  found  her  well  taken  care  of. 

He  subsequently  built  a  log  house  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river  on  land  now  occupied  by  the  residence  of  Levi  P.  Gid- 
dings. 

The  next  year  his  son,  John  Noble,  Jr.,  came  and  made  a 
settlement,  and,  before  1712,  twelve  families  had  settled  here 
on  sites  purchased  by  the  Milford  Company  from  the  Indians, 
the  purchases  having  been  ratified  by  the  Colonial  Legislature; 
but,  strange  to  say,  only  two  of  the  twelve,  Samuel  Prindle  and 
Isaiah  Bartlett,  came  from  Milford  town. 

Some  thirty  years  previous,  Henry  Tomlinson  and  others  of 
Stratford,  Conn.,  had  purchased  from  the  Indians  who  as- 
sumed to  be  owners,  this  tract  of  land,  and  Mr.  John  Read, 
joint  owner,  representing  them,  came  and  laid  claim  to  it. 

It  is  said  that  Zachariah  Ferriss,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr. 
Read,  came  here  in  1706,  before  any  other  white  man,  and 
plowed  a  piece  of  land  where  Roger  Sherman  Hall  now  stands, 
in  order  to  claim  title  to  the  land  under  the  deed  of  the  Strat- 
ford Company. 

He  was  sued  for  trespass  by  the  Milford  Company,  but  won 
his  suit,  Mr.  John  Read  being  his  counsel. 

Mr.  Read  built  a  house  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  Knapp 
residence,  in  which  he  lived,  meanwhile  prosecuting  his  claim 

3 


4  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

to  the  title  of  the  land.  He  obtained  a  verdict  in  his  favor 
fifteen  times,  but  the  sixteenth  time  the  General  Court  ruled 
against  him ;  and  he,  being  discouraged,  soon  after  removed 
to  Lonetown,  now  Redding,  named  for  him. 

The  Colonial  Government  soon  set  off  to  him  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Kent,  of  which  the  Scagh- 
ticoke  Indians  long  after  held  possession,  Mr.  Read  having 
exchanged  it  for  territory  in  the  town  of  Redding. 

Mr.  John  Read  was  a  notable  man.  He  was  well  educated 
in  theology  and  in  the  law,  being  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  is  said  to  have  preached  the  first  sermon  in  this  place. 
He  was  under  thirty  years  of  age  when  he  came  here.  He  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Major  John  Talcott,  was  held  in  high  es- 
teem by  the  Governor  of  the  Colony,  and  was  appointed  by  him 
to  many  important  positions.  He  held  the  office  of  Queen's 
Counsel  under  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  His  son,  widely  known 
as  Colonel  John  Read,  was  for  many  years  very  prominent  in 
the  Colony. 

Other  settlers  came  through  the  wilderness  and  erected  their 
rude  houses.  The  next  thing  these  pioneers  and  pilgrims  did 
was  to  petition  the  Assembly  for  the  power  and  privileges  of 
a  township,  which  were  granted,  conferring  authority  relating 
to  ecclesiastical  matters.  They  then  formed  themselves  into  a 
church,  and  called  a  minister  to  settle  over  them. 

"  What  sought  they  thus  afar? 
Bright  jewels  of  the  mine? 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war? 
They  sought  a  Faith's  pure  shrine. 

"  Ay,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod. 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God." 

They  called  Mr.  Daniel  Boardman  to  be  their  minister,  and 
built  the  meeting-house  and  the  schoolhouse,  for  these  two  insti- 
tutions went  hand  in  hand  throughout  New  England  and 
formed  the  characters  of  their  descendants. 

These  early  settlers  of  our  town  were  busy  men.     They  had 


MINOT  S.  GIDDIXGS 
Chairman    Historical   Committee 


DR.  GEORGE  H.  WRIGHT 
Chairman  Loan  Committee 


THE   KXAPP  RESIDENCE 


INTRODUCTION  5 

hard  work  to  perform  in  those  early  days  to  subdue  the  wilder- 
ness, to  plant  and  cultivate  the  corn  and  the  rye  for  their 
sustenance,  to  raise  the  flax  and  the  wool  which  the  women- 
folk made  into  garments.  Mechanics,  artificers,  and  wheel- 
wrights were  at  a  premium.  The  village  blacksmith  was  a  most 
important  and  necessary  person,  and  concessions  were  made 
and  land  given  to  induce  blacksmiths  to  settle  in  the  community. 

Small  manufactories  were  soon  established  on  every  consid- 
erable stream.  The  grist  mill,  the  saw  mill,  the  flax  mill — these 
were  important  institutions.  The  spinning  wheel  was  in  every 
house,  and  the  loom  was  set  up  in  every  neighborhood.  It 
remained  for  our  day  to  develop  the  immense  manufactories 
situated  near  the  large  marts.  Those  were  days  that  developed 
brawn  and  brain — two  hundred  years  ago. 

What  were  the  deeds  our  fathers  performed  in  those  stren- 
uous times?  They  have  told  us  but  little;  a  few  things  were 
recorded  in  the  town  books  of  record.  They  were  too  busy 
making  history  to  expend  much  time  in  writing  it.  They 
cleared  and  fenced  the  fields;  they  built  the  town  and  the 
village. 

They  did  not  pretend  to  great  academic  learning,  but  they 
had  good  common  sense  which  served  them  well.  They  went 
out  to  drive  off  the  French  and  Indians  who  harried  their 
borders  in  their  peculiar  savage  way.  They  rallied  to  defend 
their  liberties  in  the  great  War  of  the  Revolution,  for  which 
they  poured  out  their  blood  and  treasure,  more  than  two  hun- 
dred and  twelve  from  the  town  serving  in  that  war. 

Referring  to  the  founders  of  this  country,  a  noted  orator 
said,  "  How  little  did  these  rulers  of  the  Old  World — James 
the  First  seeking  to  strangle  the  liberties  of  England,  or  Rich- 
elieu laying  his  plans  to  build  up  a  kingly  despotism — realize 
that  a  little  group  of  English  yeomen  were  founding  a  colony 
in  a  Western  wilderness,  from  whose  vigorous  loins  would  spring 
a  mighty  nation  to  dominate  the  world  when  the  Stuart  and 
the  Bourbon  were  alike  forgotten !  " 

Of  these  Puritans  and  their  English  brethren,  King  James 
had  scornfully  said,  "  I  will  make  them  conform,  or  I  will 


6  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

harry  them  out  of  the  land."  He  did  indeed  drive  these  Pilgrim 
Fathers  from  his  land ;  but  within  five  generations  thereafter 
their  descendants  had  harried  the  English  Government  from 
these  shores,  and,  within  another  five  generations,  had  compelled 
not  only  England,  but  the  whole  world  as  well,  to  conform  to 
America's  principles  of  free  government,  to  America's  ideas, 
to  America's  commercial  predominance. 

Those  early  days  of  New  Milford  produced  some  noted 
men,  whose  lives  and  example  did  much  to  mould  the  characters 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  names  of  Boardman,  Taylor,  Noble, 
Gaylord,  Bostwick,  Canfield,  Baldwin,  Griswold,  Sherman,  San- 
ford,  Mygatt,  Marsh,  Hine,  Turrill,  and  others  of  the  same 
stamp  will  be  recalled  as  those  of  leaders  in  the  affairs  of  the 
town  and  the  church. 

The  greatest  and  the  most  celebrated  man  that  ever  hon- 
ored the  town  with  his  citizenship  was  Roger  Sherman.  He 
came  from  Newton,  Mass.,  in  1743,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  and  was  active  and  influential  in  affairs  of  the  town  and 
church;  but  the  town  could  not  retain  him  long.  Of  him 
Edward  Everett  Hale  said :  "  They  say  dear  Roger  Sherman 
was  a  shoemaker.  I  do  not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  every 
central  suggestion  in  the  American  Constitution,  the  wisest 
work  of  men's  hands,  that  was  struck  off  in  so  short  a  time,  is 
the  suggestion  of  this  shoemaker,  Roger  Sherman." 

It  was  said  that  Roger  Sherman  was  placed  on  'every  im- 
portant committee  while  in  Congress,  and  that  no  law,  or  part 
of  a  law,  that  he  favored  failed  to  be  enacted.  John  Adams 
said  that  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth  told  him  that  he  made  Roger 
Sherman  his  model  in  youth. 

The  Fathers  of  New  Milford  wrought  wisely  and  well  in 
establishing  the  religious  and  civic  institutions.  They  built 
well  the  town  and  wide  the  streets,  and  their  descendants  have 
enlarged  and  improved  so  much  that  this  little  village  has  the 
name  far  and  wide  of  being  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots 
in  New  England. 

Remembering  these  hardy  pioneers,  their  devotion  to  right- 
eousness, their  perseverance  amid  discouragements,  and  their 


INTRODUCTION  7 

many  virtues,  we  all — the  loyal  sons  and  daughters  of  New 
Milford,  those  who  went  forth  to  make  homes  for  themselves 
elsewhere  and  have  now  returned  hither,  and  the  strangers  from 
foreign  shores  who  have  settled  here — join  together  this  beau- 
tiful month  of  June  to  celebrate  the  founding  of  the  town,  two 
hundred  years  ago. 

MlNOT    S.    GlDDINGS. 


FEW  contrasts  could  be  more  striking  than  our  beautiful  vil- 
lage of  to-day  against  the  background  of  the  place  John 
Noble,  the  first  white  settler,  found  two  hundred  years  ago. 
An  unbroken  wilderness  met  his  eye,  save  for  the  Indian  settle- 
ment across  the  river  on  Fort  Hill,  where  the  smoke,  curling 
from  many  wigwams,  marked  the  homes  of  over  two  hundred 
warriors  with  their  families. 

Even  four  years  later,  when  the  white  man's  plantation  in- 
cluded twelve  settlers  and  about  seventy  souls,  we  find  it  a 
rather  dismal  picture.  An  irregular  cart  path,  winding  in  and 
out  among  stumps  of  newly  cut  trees,  formed  the  Main  Street. 
A  narrow  road  led  from  the  north  end  of  this  street  to  the 
river,  then  followed  the  river  bank  a  mile  north  to  the  rapids, 
the  general  crossing  place.  The  first  bridge  over  the  Housa- 
tonic  was  built  at  New  Milford,  but  not  until  1737. 

John  Noble's  house,  the  first  in  the  town,  stood  on  the  site 
of  Mr.  Levi  P.  Giddings'  present  residence.  At  the  time  it 
was  built,  it  was  the  last  house  this  side  of  Albany,  and  four- 
teen miles  from  any  white  man's  dwelling.  The  original 
"  Town  Plot "  was  on  Aspetuck  Hill,  our  forefathers  evidently 
being  impressed  even  then  with  the  beauty  and  healthfulness 
of  the  hilltops.  What  is  now  Park  Lane  was  also  in  the  first 
century  of  the  town  a  more  populous  neighborhood  than  the 
one  in  our  village.  But  the  valley  offered  more  shelter  and 
protection  in  the  rigorous  winters,  and  doubtless  the  toilsome 
life  of  the  pioneer  made  the  hill-climbing  a  heavy  burden;  so 
the  valley  triumphed  at  last,  and  claimed  the  larger  population 

In  1712  the  "  New  Milford  Plantation  "  became  a  town,  thr 
inhabitants  having  petitioned  the  General  Court  to  that  end 
In  this  year,  also,  "  Mr.  Daniel  Bordman  was  called  to  preach 

8 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  9 

ye  gospel  at  New  Milford."  Previous  to  this,  except  for  occa- 
sional preaching  here,  the  people  had  been  obliged  to  go  to 
Woodbury  or  Derby  for  church  services.  John  Noble  became 
a  member  of  the  Woodbury  Church  in  these  first  years.  When 
we  recall  what  was  meant  by  that  long  journey  of  twenty-eight 
miles  through  the  wilderness,  in  which  the  narrow  Indian  trail 
was  the  only  path,  we  bow  in  reverence  before  the  faith  and 
sturdy  manhood  that  laid  a  sure  foundation  for  the  blessings 
that  have  come  down  to  us.  John  Noble  was  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  little  community  during  his  brief  life  here. 

He  was  evidently  a  modest  man,  who  did  not  exalt  his  own 
deeds ;  but  we  may  read  between  the  lines  a  story  of  noble 
service  and  heroic  courage.  He  fortified  his  house  as  a  refuge 
for  the  people  in  times  of  danger  from  hostile  Indians.  He 
was  the  first  town  clerk  elected  by  the  town,  and  a  surveyor  of 
lands.  When  he  died,  in  1714,  there  must  have  been  sincere 
mourning  in  the  little  community.  He  was  the  first  adult 
person  to  be  buried  in  the  little  graveyard.  All  honor  to  John 
Noble,  our  first  citizen ! 

The  first  sermon  preached  here  was  by  John  Read,  who  had 
studied  for  the  ministry,  and  who  resided  here  from  1708  to 
1711.  His  house,  where  Ingleside  School  now  stands,  was 
used,  for  several  years  after  he  left,  as  a  meeting-house. 

In  1713  the  town  voted  to  pay  the  expense  of  a  minister ; 
also  to  lay  out  a  pastor's  lot,  and  to  dig  and  stone  up  a  well 
for  Mr.  Boardman,  if  he  became  a  settled  minister.  This  re- 
calls one  of  the  first  necessities  of  the  new  community — pure 
water.  Strangely  enough,  this  well  is  the  only  vestige  now 
remaining  of  that  earliest  settlement.  It  is  on  the  lawn  of 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Black's  residence. 

The  town,  meantime,  allowed  five  shillings  and  sixpence  a 
week  for  the  minister's  board.  His  salary  was  to  be  paid 
one-third  in  grain  and  two-thirds  in  labor,  linen,  or  pork.  This 
gives  a  pitiful  glimpse  of  the  slender  resources  of  the  people, 
but  we  remember  with  pride  that  there  is  no  record  of  the 
church  here  ever  receiving  aid  from  any  outside  source.  In 
1716  the  church  was  organized,  and,  on  November  21  of  that 


10  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

year  Mr.  Boardman  was  ordained.  The  first  meeting-house 
was  commenced  in  1718,  but  was  not  open  for  worship  till 
1720,  and  was  then  quite  unfinished,  the  floor  not  being  laid 
till  1723.  It  stood  on  the  highway  on  Aspetuck  Hill,  a  little 
north  of  the  Knapp  house. 

Until  1745  the  Congregational  Church  was  the  only  one  in 
the  town,  and  every  person  was  taxed  for  its  support. 

There  was  no  Ecclesiastical  Society  till  after  1750.  The 
town  was  the  Society,  and  provided  for  all  expenses  of  public 
worship.  It  has  been  remarked  of  these  early  New  England 
towns  that  "  one  might  almost  say  that  the  church  had  select- 
men and  the  town  had  deacons,  so  closely  were  the  two  united." 
From  1750  to  1790  those  who  aided  in  supporting  other 
churches  were  relieved  of  the  tax  for  the  support  of  this  one, 
and,  from  1800,  only  members  of  this  society  were  taxed  for  its 
benefit.  The  renting  of  pews  began  in  1854. 

Before  this,  committees  had  "  dignified  the  meeting-house." 
All  persons  of  the  age  of  fifty-six  years  and  upwards  were 
assigned  to  the  first  rank  of  seats,  and  all  others  were 
seated  "  according  to  the  taxes  they  have  paid  toward  build- 
ing said  Meeting-House."  We  are  told  that  in  the  early  days 
of  the  colony  the  "  dignifying  the  meeting-house,"  that  is,  the 
seating  people  by  certain  grades  of  wealth,  was  unknown.  It 
became  common  only  after  slavery  was  an  established  insti- 
tution. 

The  people  were  for  many  years  called  to  church  by  the 
beat  of  the  drum.  An  appropriation  was  made  for  this  when 
the  church  was  organized,  and,  annually,  the  town  appointed 
a  person  to  beat  the  drum,  and  voted  to  pay  him  for  the  same. 

This  method  may  have  been  employed  to  remind  the  people 
that  they  belonged  to  the  church  militant.  Certain  it  is,  that 
the  marching  with  measured  tread  to  the  martial  sound  was  a 
fitting  prelude  to  the  grim  and  lengthy  service  awaiting  them. 

The  meeting-houses  were  not  heated  till  1823,  when  two  box 
stoves  were  put  in  the  second  meeting-house.  No  wonder  our 
forbears  developed  strong  and  decided  traits  of  character 
under  such  Spartan  training! 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  11 

The  tithing  man  was  an  important  factor  in  church  work. 
As  early  as  1729  it  was  voted  in  town  meeting  "  that  James 
Hine  have  oversight  of  the  female  sex  during  exercises  on 
the  Sabbath."  We  are  left  in  painful  doubt  as  to  whether  the 
"  female  sex  "  needed  more  oversight  than  the  men.  But  a  later 
vote  recorded  relieves  our  minds,  for  "  two  men  were  appointed 
to  oversee  the  youth  (males),  and  one  for  the  female  sex," 
during  service.  So  we  may  conclude  our  foremothers  needed 
only  half  as  much  watching  as  the  fathers  and  sons. 

The  law  requiring  the  appointment  of  tithing  men  was 
passed  in  1721.  Earlier,  it  was  customary  in  New  England  to 
appoint  an  officer  to  keep  people  from  sleeping  during  the 
delivery  of  the  sermon. 

In  1745  the  town  voted  that  "  any  farmers,  inhabitants,  have 
leave  to  build  a  small  house  to  repair  to  on  the  Sabbath  Day, 
on  the  common  land,  provided  the  public  is  not  damnified 
thereby."  This  building  was  "  north  of  the  meeting-house  on 
the  side  of  the  hill."  After  the  second  church  was  built,  in 
1754,  on  "  The  Green,"  opposite  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Henry  Bostwick's  residence,  the  Sabbath  Day  house  was 
built  on  the  site  of  Mr.  James  Orton's  present  home  on  Bridge 
Street.  These  "  Sabba'  Day  houses,"  as  they  were  called,  were 
an  important  institution  in  the  Sunday  life  of  those  old 
days. 

Here  those  living  at  a  distance  stored  loads  of  wood  and 
barrels  of  cider,  refilled  their  foot  stoves  and  rested  between 
services. 

This  little  intermission,  in  which  the  settlers  took  breath 
after  the  two  hours'  sermon  of  the  morning,  and  gained 
strength  for  the  ninthlies  and  tenthlies  of  the  afternoon,  is  a 
pleasant  picture  in  the  midst  of  the  rigorous  Sabbath.  We 
like  to  think  there  was  a  little  relaxation  for  the  housewives 
in  exchanging  their  doughnuts  and  Indian  bread,  and  compar- 
ing receipts  for  the  same,  and,  perhaps,  indulging  in  a  little 
week-day  gossip,  when  James  Hine  was  not  at  hand  to  "  over- 
see." 

The  most  notable  figure  in  the  town  was  always  the  minister. 


12 

He  was  the  person,  the  "  parson."  Even  the  "  divinity  that 
doth  hedge  a  king "  commands  hardly  more  reverence  than 
that  which  was  paid  to  the  early  New  England  minister.  The 
very  children  were  taught  to  make  obeisance  to  him  as  he 
passed  along  the  street.  An  early  rule  of  the  New  England 
churches  read  as  follows :  "  If  any  person  or  persons  shall 
be  guilty  of  speaking  against  the  minister,  in  any  shape,  form 
or  manner,  or  of  speaking  against  his  preaching,  said  person 
or  persons  shall  be  punished  by  fine,  whipping  or  banish- 
ment, or  cutting  off  of  ears." 

Mr.  Orcutt,  in  his  "  History  of  New  Milford,"  says  that 
Episcopal  Church  services  were  held  here  as  early  as  1742, 
perhaps  earlier,  Rev.  Mr.  Beach  of  Newtown  conducting  occa- 
sional meetings.  The  first  resident  Episcopal  clergyman  was 
Rev.  Solomon  Palmer,  who  came  in  1754.  The  second  Epis- 
copal church  stood  on  the  lower  end  of  "  The  Green."  It  was 
consecrated  in  1793,  though  begun  many  years  before. 

The  Separatists,  or  Strict  Congregationalists,  as  they  were 
called,  built  a  house  of  worship  in  1761,  near  the  entrance  to 
the  present  cemetery.  They  disbanded  in  1812.  The  Baptists 
had  a  small  church  in  "  The  Neck,"  now  Bridgewater,  in  1788, 
but  soon  moved  away.  The  Baptist  Church  in  Northville  was 
formed  in  1814.  In  1825  the  Methodist  Church  was  estab- 
lished at  Gaylordsville.  The  Methodist  Church  in  this  village 
was  erected  in  1849. 

The  Quakers  were  early  in  the  field,  their  first  meeting-house 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town  being  built  about  1742. 

The  present  Congregational  Church  edifice  was  built  in  1833. 
In  1883  the  beautiful  new  St.  John's  Episcopal  Church,  which 
is  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  our  Main  Street,  was  com- 
pleted. All  Saints'  Memorial  Episcopal  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  1880.  The  beautiful  church  building  was  erected  later 
on  Aspetuck  Hill,  in  memory  of  the  late  Judge  David  C.  San- 
ford,  by  his  wife.  It  was  consecrated  in  1888.  The  Church 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  Roman  Catholic,  was  built  about  1860, 
and  has  a  large  and  flourishing  congregation.  The  most  re- 
cent addition  to  our  list  of  churches  is  the  Advent  Church, 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  13 

which  has  done  an  excellent  work  already  in  our  community. 
It  was  built  in  1901. 

From  very  ancient  times  it  seems  to  have  been  ordained  that 
harmony  and  discord  should  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  churches, 
for  no  subject  was  more  prolific  of  disturbance  than  the  sing- 
ing. In  the  first  days  of  New  Milford  the  deacons  led  the 
singing,  standing  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  any  change,  for,  in  1739, 
a  meeting  was  held  "  to  consider  about  the  singing  of  God's 
praises  in  the  congregation,"  and  it  was  voted  "  that  we  should 
'  half  '  the  time ;  that  is,  to  sing  one  day  all  the  old  way,  and 
the  next  Sabbath  all  the  new  way,  for  the  space  of  one  year, 
and  then  have  a  reconsideration  of  the  matter."  Samuel  Bost- 
wick  was  chosen  chorister  for  the  new  way,  and  "  Nathan  Bots- 
ford  second,  in  case  of  the  other's  absence." 

The  difference  continued,  for  the  following  year  a  meeting 
was  called  to  "  agree  about  the  singing  in  church."  It  was 
put  to  vote  that  all  in  favor  of  singing  all  together  the  old 
way  should  go  to  the  east  end  of  the  meeting-house,  and  those 
for  the  new  way  to  the  west  end.  On  being  counted,  thirty 
favored  the  new  way,  against  sixteen  for  the  old.  They  peace- 
ably voted  that  the  majority  should  rule. 

Eight  years  later  a  new  trouble  arose  as  to  using  Dr.  Watts' 
version  of  the  Psalms.  It  was  voted  "  that  Dr.  Watts'  version 
be  sung  the  last  singing  in  the  afternoon  on  the  Sabbath  and 
at  lectures."  The  next  year  it  was  voted  to  sing  from  the  old 
version  in  the  morning,  and  from  Dr.  Watts'  version  in  the 
afternoon,  for  one  year,  and  then  altogether  from  Dr.  Watts. 
Who  could  imagine  Dr.  Watts  as  a  dangerous  innovation! 

Up  to  this  time  no  reference  is  found  here  to  any  musical 
instrument  but  the  pitch  pipe.  The  bass  viol  and  the  rest  of 
the  stringed  instruments  must  have  come  into  use  in  the  church 
services  soon  after.  How  the  old  fugue  tunes,  with  the  parts 
chasing  each  other  all  the  way  through,  must  have  shaken  the 
rafters  and  waked  all  the  sleepers,  without  the  help  of  the 
tithing  man ! 

This  town  very  early  began  to  uphold  morality  and  order. 


14  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

In  that  first  century  it  fined  certain  persons  "  for  bringing  into 
the  town  unwholesome  inhabitants." 

The  care  with  which  the  town  guarded  its  temporal  interests 
is  shown  by  an  early  vote,  "  that  a  black  bonnet,  a  red  woman's 
cloak,  and  a  worsted  gown  belonging  to  Hannah  Beeman,  de- 
ceased, be  kept  for  her  daughter  till  she  is  of  age;  if  she  die 
under  age,  the  town  to  have  them." 

The  cause  of  education  went  hand  in  hand  with  that  of 
religion  in  those  early  days.  When  there  were  but  twenty-five 
families  in  the  town,  a  public  school  was  ordered.  In  town 
meeting,  September,  1721,  it  was  voted  that  a  school  be  main- 
tained for  four  months,  the  town  to  bear  half  the  charge.  The 
next  year  a  committee  was  appointed  to  raise  money  to  hire  a 
schoolmaster  three  months  in  winter,  and  a  schoolmistress  three 
months  in  summer.  One  of  these  early  schoolmistresses  was 
the  little  daughter  of  John  Noble,  who  had  come  hither  with 
him  alone  through  the  wilderness.  Deacon  Sherman  Board- 
\  man,  son  of  the  Rev.  Daniel,  mentions  going  to  school  to  her, 
I  and  says  she  was  an  excellent  teacher.  The  "  little  red  school- 
house  "  was  preceded  by  the  log  schoolhouse,  which  was  soon 
a  frequent  landmark  through  the  town.  The  town  was  often 
divided  into  new  districts.  In  1782  there  were  twenty-one 
school  districts.  In  1787  a  new  building  for  townhouse  and 
schoolhouse  together  was  erected  at  the  north  end  of  the  Main 
Street. 

The  singing  schools  were  a  pleasant  feature  of  early  days, 
and,  in  a  time  of  few  pleasures,  afforded  a  harmless  enjoyment. 
They  were  usually  held  in  the  schoolhouses,  but  sometimes  at 
a  dwelling  in  the  neighborhood.  In  1792  Mr.  Cyrene  Stilson 
is  recorded  as  beginning  a  singing  school  at  a  private  house. 
There  are  to-day  treasured  in  many  of  our  homes,  brass  can- 
dlesticks that  were  kept  bright  by  our  grandmothers  to  carry 
to  the  schoolhouse  for  the  evening  singing  school.  They  sug- 
gest many  bits  of  romance.  When  the  boys  were  privileged  to 
walk  home  with  the  girls,  they  carried  the  candlesticks,  we 
hope,  and  they  doubtless  lingered  on  the  broad  doorstep  some- 
times, in  spite  of  zero  weather. 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  15 

One  of  the  brightest  spots  in  New  Milford  history  is  the 
patriotism  the  town  has  shown  through  all  its  generations. 
This  sentiment  seems  to  have  been  a  perennial  spring  in  the 
hearts  of  the  inhabitants,  ready  to  burst  out  into  action  when- 
ever a  crisis  arose. 

The  long  list  of  soldiers  in  the  wars  is  proof  of  this.  The 
War  of  the  Revolution  called  out  a  host  of  brave  men  from 
New  Milford.  Not  less  patriotic  was  the  minister,  Rev.  Na- 
thaniel Taylor.  He  had  long  before  served  as  chaplain  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  and,  in  1779,  he  remitted  his  entire 
salary  to  alleviate  the  suffering  caused  by  the  war.  It  is  in- 
spiring to  read  that  in  this  same  year  the  county  treasurer  at 
Litchfield  received  the  sum  of  ninety-four  pounds  sixteen  shil- 
lings, by  the  hand  of  Col.  Samuel  Canfield — money  contributed 
by  the  first  Ecclesiastical  Society  of  New  Milford,  for  the  relief 
of  the  distressed  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  New  Haven, 
Fairfield,  and  Norwalk. 

The  actual  conflict  came  no  nearer  than  Danbury.  A  large 
number  of  our  citizens  participated  in  that  battle.  The  send- 
ing out  of  troops,  and  the  mourning  in  many  households  for 
those  who  did  not  return,  must  have  kept  the  war  very  near 
to  the  hearts  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Further- 
more, the  presence  of  three  brigades  (nearly  5000  men)  in 
camp  on  Second  Hill,  for  nearly  a  month  in  the  autumn  of 
1778,  brought  the  war  atmosphere  almost  to  their  very  doors. 

Once  during  the  war   Lafayette  and  Rochambeau  were  enter- 
tained over  night  here ;  Rochambeau,  at  the  home  of  Rev.  Na 
thaniel  Taylor,  north  of  the  present  Congregational  Church, 
and  Lafayette,   at  the  house  of  the  son   of  Rev.   Nathaniel, 
Nathaniel,  Jr.,   south   of  the   church. 

There  was  a  pretty  romance  of  the  war  here  also.  Major 
Jones  of  Virginia,  in  charge  of  the  commissary  stores  kept 
here  the  summer  after  the  burning  of  Danbury,  fell  in  love 
with  pretty  Tamar  Taylor,  the  minister's  daughter.  We  have 
the  story  from  Mrs.  Helen  Carr,  the  granddaughter  of  Tamar 
Taylor,  as  she  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  her  grandmother.  The 
Major's  affection  seems  to  have  been  returned,  but  her  parents 


16  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

frowned  upon  the  affair  for  the  sole  reason  that  they  could 
never  let  their  daughter  go  to  that  far  country — Virginia.  The 
wooer  was  said  to  be  "  a  very  fine  man,  who  won  golden  opin- 
ions from  everyone,"  the  question  of  distance  being  the  only 
obstacle  to  parental  consent. 

Four  years  later  Major  Jones  wrote  to  Daniel  Everett  of 
New  Milford,  his  sweetheart's  brother-in-law  and  his  near 
friend,  from  Yorktown,  during  the  siege,  shortly  before  the 
surrender  of  Cornwallis.  Even  that  exciting  and  arduous  time 
seems  not  to  have  made  him  forget  the  young  lady,  for  he 
says :  "  She  is  never  out  of  my  mind,  though  it  seems  Fortune 
has  not  been  so  favorable  as  to  allot  us  to  the  possession  of 
each  other  in  this  short  transitory  life,  or  if  she  has,  parents 
seem  to  clash.  ...  I  wish  I  had  time  to  write  you  fully 
on  a  subject  that  floats  in  my  head,  the  last  when  I  go  to  bed 
and  the  first  when  I  awake,  but  must  omit  it  till  a  future 
opportunity." 

After  the  war  was  over  and  the  country  had  become  settled, 
Major  Jones,  with  his  body  servant,  journeyed  on  horseback 
from  his  Virginia  home  to  New  Milford;  but  the  journey  was 
in  vain,  and  he  went  sorrowfully  home  alone.  Pretty  Temmie 
Taylor  seems  not  to  have  been  inconsolable,  for  she  was  hap- 
pily married  later  to  the  Hon.  Nicholas  Masters  of  this  place. 
Mrs.  Carr  still  cherishes  the  ring  and  locket  given  her  grand- 
mother by  the  earlier  lover;  and  when  we  touched  the  ancient 
tokens,  the  long  years  fell  away,  and  we,  too,  seemed  to  live  in 
the  love  story  of  olden  time. 

New  Milford  was  on  one  of  the  regular  post  roads  from 
Philadelphia  to  Boston,  and,  if  the  old  highways  could  speak, 
they  might  tell  many  stories  of  distinguished  men  who  have 
travelled  over  them.  We  read  in  the  letters  of  John  Adams  of 
his  going  through  this  town  on  his  way  to  the  Congress  in 
Philadelphia.  During  the  war  there  was  frequent  passing 
through  the  place  of  both  British  and  Continental  troops. 

When  the  war  was  over  there  was  still  further  expression  of 
the  patriotic  sentiments  of  the  people  in  a  vote  "  that  none 
of  those  persons  who  have  voluntarily  gone  over  and  joined 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  17 

the  enemy,  shall  be  suffered  to  abide  and  continue  in  the  town 
during  the  present  situation  of  our  public  affairs."  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  carry  out  these  resolutions,  with  the 
result  that  several  never  came  back,  and  their  lands  were  con- 
fiscated by  the  State. 

We  learn  of  much  pleasant  social  life  in  the  peaceful  days 
following  the  war.  There  were  the  "  assemblies."  An  invita- 
tion card  for  one  of  these  functions  is  for  "  Friday  Evening, 
July  third  next,  at  six  o'clock."  What  would  the  young  people 
of  our  day  think  of  that?  Another  is  for  a  "  Quarter  Ball, 
at  Mr.  G.  Booth's  Assembly  Room,  on  June  3d  at  three  o'clock, 
P.  M." !  In  winter  there  were  merry  sleighing  parties  to  neigh- 
boring towns.  Often  large  companies  in  twenty  or  thirty 
sleighs  enjoyed  an  early  supper  together,  getting  safely  home 
before  ten  o'clock. 

Afternoon  teas  were  frequent;  not  like  yours,  dear  up-to- 
date  woman  of  to-day,  but  "  tea-drinkings,"  where  the  women 
took  their  knitting  work  and  spent  long  afternoons  in  visit- 
ing. Mrs.  Nathaniel  Taylor  had  on  one  occasion  such  a  com- 
pany. The  parson,  in  his  study  overhead,  was  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  fragments  of  conversation  that  floated  up  to  him. 
Each  woman  had  some  exciting  tale  of  her  domestic  experi- 
ences to  relate.  One  quiet  sister,  unable  to  hold  her  own  in  the 
babel  of  tongues,  tried  again  and  again  to  tell  her  story,  be- 
ginning, "  My  goose ."  But  each  time  the  quiet  voice  was 

drowned,  and  the  story  never  proceeded  further. 

When  good  Parson  Taylor  was  summoned  to  the  tea  table 
he  said :  "  Ladies,  I  have  been  so  interested  in  your  conver- 
sation, I  thought  it  worth  preserving.  So  I  wrote  it  down  and 
will  read  it  to  you."  Great  was  the  amusement  when  he  read 
the  persistent  efforts  of  their  friend  to  tell  the  story  of  "  My 
Goose."  After  all,  human  nature  is  much  the  same  in  all 
generations. 

The  town  enjoyed  in  the  old  days  quite  a  reputation  for 
good  living,  and  many  were  the  notable  feasts  cooked  over  the 
great  fireplaces  and  in  the  huge  brick  ovens  before  the  days  of 
stoves  and  ranges.  What  an  amount  of  seasoned  hickory  logs 


18  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

went  up  the  chimney  in  smoke  to  cook  them!  Forty  cords  of 
wood,  the  record  gives,  as  one  item  of  the  minister's  salary  for 
the  year. 

The  means  of  transportation  in  early  times  furnished  one 
of  the  most  serious  problems.  The  Housatonic  Railroad  was 
not  completed  till  1840.  Before  this,  all  transportation  of 
produce  and  merchandise  was  by  wagons  to  Bridgeport,  and 
thence  by  sloop  to  New  York.  The  mail  also  came  in  much 
the  same  way,  being  brought  here  from  Bridgeport  by  a  car- 
rier on  horseback.  Our  old  friend,  the  late  Colonel  Wm.  J. 
Starr,  remembered  the  postman  of  his  childhood  days,  who 
announced  his  arrival  by  shouting  as  he  rode,  "  News !  News ! 
Some  lies  and  some  trues !  " 

We  owe  to  Colonel  Starr  a  vivid  picture  of  the  Main  Street 
of  the  village  nearly  a  century  ago,  as  he  recalled  it.  It  is  not 
an  agreeable  picture.  Pigs  were  kept  in  the  street,  and  be- 
fore almost  every  house  was  a  long  trough,  where  twice  a  day 
they  were  fed.  We  can  hardly  wonder  that  fevers  broke  out 
mysteriously.  Geese  also  roamed  at  will,  and  mischievous 
youths  were  known  to  play  a  practical  joke  on  some  unpop- 
ular man  by  penning  all  the  geese  in  the  village  into  his  front 
porch  during  the  night. 

Many  of  the  front  yards  were  adorned  with  huge  wood- 
piles. A  part  of  the  street  was  a  swamp,  through  which  ran 
a  crooked  water  course  that,  after  a  shower,  left  pools  of  mud, 
in  which  pigs  and  cattle  cooled  themselves,  for  "  The  Green  " 
was  also  a  cattle  pasture.  The  stbry  is  told  of  a  dignified 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  who,  dressed  in  immaculate  white 
on  a  summer  Sunday,  was  hastening  across  "  The  Green  "  to 
church,  making  his  way  among  the  puddles,  when  a  large  hog, 
frightened  from  a  pool,  ran  violently  against  him.  He  had 
an  unsought  ride  on  its  back  across  the  street,  and  was 
deposited  in  a  puddle,  in  full  view  of  the  waiting  congrega- 
tion gathered  on  the  church  steps. 

In  1838  the  open-paved  watercourse  through  "  The  Green  " 
was  constructed  and  was  regarded  as  a  grand  improvement. 

The  Village   Improvement   Society  was   organized   in   1871, 


JEHIEL  WILLIAMS,  M.  D. 
An  early  and  beloved  physician.     B.  1782,  d.  1862. 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  19 

and,  a  little  later,  under  its  auspices,  "  The  Green  "  was  put 
in  its  present  attractive  condition,  a  covered  brick  sewer  being 
laid  to  replace  the  open-paved  watercourse  which  previously 
ran  through  the  center  of  the  street.  This  was  accomplished 
on  the  initiative,  and  largely  though  the  instrumentality,  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  D.  Black,  whose  efforts  and  energies 
were  always  directed  for  the  benefit  of  the  village.  A  large 
and  successful  fair  to  raise  money  for  this  purpose  was  held 
in  a  tent  on  "  The  Green  "  in  July,  1872,  and  the  residents  of 
Main  Street  accepted  a  voluntary  assessment  of  a  large  amount 
to  perfect  the  work. 

A  familiar  and  welcome  sight  of  long  ago  was  the  village 
doctor  on  horseback  with  his  saddlebags.  He  was  the  friend 
of  everyone,  beloved  and  venerated  next  to  the  minister.  His 
store  of  huge  pills  and  herbs  and  simples  carried  healing  and 
comfort  to  all  the  countryside.  Dr.  Jehiel  Williams  was  the 
last  of  these  old-time  doctors  in  New  Milford.  He  is  still  re- 
membered by  many  with  reverent  tenderness.  His  kindness 
knew  no  bounds,  and  his  hearty  laugh  carried  cheer  wherever 
he  went.  A  cautious  man  he  was.  Even  his  most  cherished 
opinions  were  always  .prefaced  with  "  I  'most  guess."  He  was 
cautious  also  in  his  remedies,  and  the  overworked  woman  of 
this  busy  age  would  hardly  accept  his  cure  for  nerves  and 
sleeplessness :  "  Take  a  hop,  put  it  in  a  teacup  and  fill  the  cup 
with  hot  water.  Drink  it  at  night  and  I  'most  guess  you  will 
feel  better."  It  was  whispered  that  his  huge  pills  were  often 
made  of  bread,  when  he  felt  none  were  needed. 

He  rode  up  and  down  the  hills  for  a  lifetime,  charging 
twenty-five  cents  for  a  visit,  fifty  cents  when  the  journey  was 
long — afterwards  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents !  On  one  occa- 
sion he  rode  five  miles  to  find  that  his  patient  had  been  already 
relieved  by  some  housewife's  simple  remedy.  He  declined  any 
fee,  merely  saying,  "  What  I  have  learned  in  this  cure  is  worth 
far  more  to  me  than  the  trouble  of  coming." 

He  was  friend  and  helper  to  three  generations,  and  when, 
at  last,  full  of  years  and  honors,  he  went  to  his  well-earned 
rest,  every  household  of  the  town  mourned  his  departure. 


20  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Slavery  existed  here,  as  elsewhere  in  New  England,  in  the 
first  century  of  the  town.  A  written  advertisement  for  a  run- 
away slave,  offering  a  reward  for  his  capture,  and  signed, 
"  Gideon  Treat,  New  Milford,  September,  1774,"  is  still  in 
existence.  It  sounds  strange  enough  to  twentieth  century  ears. 
Judging  from  the  records,  slaves  were  generally  well  treated  in 
New  Milford,  and  many  owners  freed  their  own  negroes  long 
before  the  days  of  slavery  were  over. 

A  woman  is  recorded  as  the  first  in  our  town  to  free  a 
slave.  Mary  Robburds,  in  1757,  gave  her  negro  servant  Dan 
his  freedom.  Partridge  Thatcher,  a  lawyer  here,  was  espe- 
cially noted  for  his  kindness  to  his  slaves.  Judge  David  S. 
Boardman  wrote  concerning  him :  "  He  had  no  children,  but 
a  large  number  of  negroes  whom  he  treated  with  a  kindness 
enough  to  put  to  shame  the  reproaches  of  all  the  Abolitionists 
of  New  England."  And  he  freed  them  all  during  his  lifetime. 

But  the  sins  of  old  days  in  this  matter  were  somewhat  atoned 
for  in  after  years  by  the  zeal  of  the  Abolitionists  of  New  Mil- 
ford  in  aiding  runaway  slaves  to  reach  Canada  and  freedom. 
In  the  later  days  of  slavery  in  the  South  there  were  several 
stations  of  the  Underground  Railroad  in  this  vicinity.  Mr. 
Charles  Sabin's  house  in  Lanesville  was  one,  and  the  house  of 
Mr.  Augustine  Thayer  on  Grove  Street  in  this  village  was 
another.  Mr.  Thayer  and  his  good  wife  devoted  their  lives  to 
the  Abolition  cause.  They  helped  many  poor  slaves  on  their 
way,  rising  from  their  beds  in  the  night  to  feed  and  minister 
to  them,  and  secreting  them  till  they  could  be  taken  under  cover 
of  darkness  to  Deacon  Gerardus  Roberts'  house  on  Second  Hill, 
from  there  to  Mr.  Daniel  Platt's  in  Washington,  and  so  on, 
by  short  stages,  all  the  way  until  the  Canadian  border  was 
reached. 

The  spirit  and  courage  of  the  fathers  have  descended  to  the 
sons  through  many  generations.  This  has  been  proved  again 
and  again  in  later  years,  notably  in  our  Civil  War.  During  all 
the  dark  four  years  from  the  terrible  day  when  the  flag  fell 
at  Fort  Sumter  to  the  memorable  rejoicing  over  the  fall  of 
Richmond,  there  were  not  wanting  brave  sons  of  this  old  town 


SALLY   NORTHROP 

Born    1776,  died    1870 

A   resident   of  New   Milford   for  One 

Hundred  Years 


DAVID   CURTIS   SANFORD 

Born    179S,  died    1864 

A  Justice   of  the   Supreme  Court  of 

Connectiucut 


HENRY    SEYMOTR    SANFORD 

Born  1832,   died  1901 

Son  of  David  C.  banford;  Attorney  at  the 
Fairfleld   and   Litchfield   County   Bars 


WILLIAM    DIMON    BLACK 

Born    1836,  died    1889 

Member  of  firm  of  Ball,  Black  &  Co., 
New  York  City;  for  eighteen  years  a 
resident  of  New  Milford  and  active  in 
the  devolpment  of  the  town  till  his 
death,  1889 


GLIMPSES  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HISTORY  21 

to  offer  their  lives,  and  fathers  to  give  of  their  substance.  The 
daughters  of  the  town  vied  with  each  other  in  loyal  labors  for 
their  country,  and  gave  their  time  with  their  hearts  to  loving 
ministry. 

In  recent  days  the  courage  of  our  citizens  has  been  "  tried 
as  by  fire."  The  great  conflagration  of  May,  1902,  swept 
away  the  entire  business  portion  of  the  village ;  yet  the  Puritan 
fathers  could  not  have  met  disaster  more  stoically  than  our 
brave  men  of  to-day.  The  cheerful  optimism  that  built 
"  Shanty  Town  "  on  "  The  Green  "  while  the  ruins  were  still 
smouldering  showed  that  the  stout  hearts  of  old  New  Milford 
were  the  same  in  the  new,  and  that  noble  lives  have  been  its 
inheritance  through  all  its  years. 

We  smile  as  we  recall  the  old  days  and  ways,  but  we  bare 
our  heads  reverently  before  those  godly  men  and  women  whose 
hardships  meant  a  better  way  for  us.  Two  hundred  years 
hence  others  will  read  our  record,  and  smile,  perhaps.  Will 
it  be  as  worthy? 


THE    OWNERS    OF    NEW    MILFORD 

NAMES    OF    THE    PROPRIETORS    IN    THE    MILFORD    COMPANY,    WHO, 

UNDER   A   DEED   OF   DATE   OF   JUNE,    1703,   WERE   THE 

OWNERS   OF  THE  TOWN  OF  NEW  MILFORD 

COMPILED  AND  ARRANGED  BY  GENERAL  HENRY  STUART  TTJRRILL  * 

THE  following  were  proprietors  to  the  amount  of  £1  4s.: 
Col.  Robert  Treat,  Mr.  Thomas  Clark,  Ensign  George  Clark, 
Lieut.  Joseph  Treat,  Ensign  Joseph  Peck,  Jonathan  Baldwin, 
committee;  Capt.  Samuel  Eells,  Sergt.  Edward  Camp,  Rev. 
Mr.  Andrews,  Thomas  Wlech,  James  Prime,  Stephen  Miles, 
Barnabas  Baldwin,  John  Woodruff,  Mr.  Richard  Bryan,  Dan- 
iel Terrell,  Samuel  Brisco,  Timothy  Botsford,  Sergt.  Daniel 
Baldwin,  Mr.  Robert  Treat,  Deacon  Platt,  Thomas  Clark,  Mr. 
Samuel  Clark,  Jr.,  Samuel  Buckingham,  Thomas  Buckingham, 
John  Buckingham,  William  Wheeler,  Nathaniel  Farrand,  Sr., 
George  Allen,  Samuel  Camp  (mason),  John  Smith  ye  4th,  Sam- 
uel Clark,  Sr.,  Ephraim  Burwell,  Joseph  Beard,  Joseph  Camp, 
Samuel  Camp  (Lanesend),  Nathaniel  Farrand,  Jr.,  Thomas  Tib- 
bals,  Thomas  Canfield,  John  Merwin,  Samuel  Smith  (West  end) , 
William  Gold,  Joseph  Wheeler,  John  Prince,  Samuel  Camp, 
(son  of  Edward  Camp),  Eleazor  Prindle,  Lieut.  Camp,  William 
Scone,  Samuel  Baldwin  (wheelwright),  Lieut.  Joseph  Platt, 
Sergt.  Miles  Merwin,  Samuel  Sanford,  Sr.,  John  Beard,  Mr. 
Samuel  Andrews,  Sr.,  George  Clark,  Sr.,  Joseph  Clarke,  Jo- 
seph Peck,  Jr.,  John  Camp,  Sergt.  John  Smith,  Jonathan 
Law,  Jr.,  John  Allen,  Hugh  Grey,  Joseph  Ashburn,  John 
Summers,  James  Fenn,  Zachariah  Whitman,  William  Adams, 
Joseph  Rogers,  Samuel  Stone,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  Jr. ;  Jesse 

*  Henry  Stuart  Turrill,  Brigadier  General  United  States  Army,  a  native 
and  former  resident  of  New  Milford,  enlisted  in  the  army,  1863,  retired. 
1906,  died  suddenly  May  24,  1907,  while  dictating  his  reminiscences  for 
this  volume. 


THE  OWNERS  or  NEW  MILFOED  23 

Lambert,  Frederick  Prudden,  Sergt.  Zachariah  Baldwin,  Ben- 
jamin Smith,  Sr.,  John  Smith,  Jr.,  John  Platt,  Josiah  Platt, 
Richard  Platt,  Samuel  Prindle,  Sergt.  Samuel  Beard,  Sergt. 
Samuel  Northrope,  George  Clarke,  Jr.,  Samuel  Coley,  Samuel 
Merwin,  Lieut.  Samuel  Burwell,  Samuel  Miles,  James  Beard, 
Samuel  Nettleton,  Joseph  Treat  (son  of  Lieut.  Treat),  Jere- 
miah Canfield,  Thomas  Smith,  Nathaniel  Baldwin,  Jr.,  Jere- 
miah Beard,  Bethel  Lankstaff,  Andrew  Sanford,  Sr.,  Nath. 
Sanford,  John  Merwin,  Joseph  Tibbals,  Billin  Baldwin  (in 
right  of  her  father,  Sergt.  Timothy  Baldwin,  deceased),  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Mather. 

The  following  were  proprietors  to  the  amount  of  12s. :  Mr. 
Robert  Plumb,  Andrew  Sanford,  Widow  Mary  Baldwin,  James 
Baldwin,  Nathaniel  Baldwin  (cooper),  Henry  Summers,  Samuel 
Smith  (water),  John  Clark,  and  William  Fowler. 


.    TWO   HUNDRED  YEARS  AGO 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  SAHAH  SANFORD  BLACK 

Upon  this  hilltop  stood  the  doughty  priest 
And  bade  his  minions,  men  of  brawn  and  bone, 
To  dig  for  water  ere  the  frost  should  come 
To  lock  the  land  and  shroud  the  hill  in  snow, 

Two  hundred  years  ago. 
And  here  they  labored  long  and  valiantly, 
Till  far  beneath  the  sod  a  rill  arose 
And  'twixt  the  rocks  a  stream  broke  forth 
And  sparkled  in  the  Autumn  evening  glow 

Two  hundred  years  ago. 

"  Thank  God  for  water  pure  and  clear,"  he  cried, 
And  in  the  twilight  grey  the  good  priest  stood 
And  looking  off  beyond  the  valley  fair, 
To  where  the  same  hills  which  we  love  and  know, 

Two  hundred  years  ago 

Seemed  to  touch  Paradise,  as  now,  he  called 
On  God,  the  wanderers'  God,  to  bless  the  well 
Which  was  to  them  that  day,  the  most  desired 
Of  all  the  gifts  which  man  or  beast  could  know, 

Two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  years  have  passed,  two  hundred  years, — and  now 
We  stand  beside  the  well,  which  was  the  first 
Our  village  knew, — "  The  Ancient  Boardman  Well  " ; 
To-day  the  bucket  dips,  the  waters  flow, 

Just  as  they  did 
Two  hundred  years  ago. 

We  look  where  purple  hilltops  touch  the  sky, 
We  kneel  and  thank  our  God  for  all  the  past — 
24 


THE  FIRST  WELL  IX  THE  TOWN  OF  NEW   MILFOHD 

Dug   by   Priest   Daniel    Boardman.    The   property   is   now   owned   by   Mrs. 

William  D.  Black,  and  known  as  "  Hickory   Heartb" 


Two  HUNDREDS  YEARS  AGO  25 

They  clasped  His  hand  as  we  do,  tho'  that  day 
All  that  their  future  held  they  could  not  know 

As  we  know  now, — 
Two  hundred  years  ago. 

We  thank  our  fathers'  God  for  all  His  care, 
For  smiling  fields  and  busy  haunts  of  men, — 
For  all  the  gifts  of  Science  and  of  Art, — 
For  lives  whose  deeds  His  loving  guidance  show 

Brave  as  those  lives 
Two  hundred  years  ago. 

All  are  from  Him,  these  works  of  hand  and  brain 
His  love  has  made  men  wise,  has  kept  men  true, 
Since  first  upon  this  hilltop  life  began, 
And  water  in  the  wilderness  did  flow 

Here  at  this  well 
Two  hundred  years  ago. 


THE  TWO  ABIGAILS 

REMINISCENCES   OF   A  TYPICAL  NEW   MILFORD   FAMILY 
CONTRIBUTED   BY   GENERAL    HENRY   STUART   TURRILL 

CALEB  TERRILL,  eldest  son  of  Daniel  and  Zorvia  (Canfield) 
Terrell,  was  born  in  Milford,  Connecticut,  December  3,  1717. 
Nearing  his  majority,  he  was  given  the  right  of  land  in 
New  Milford  of  which  his  grandfather,  Daniel,  Sr.,  was  the 
original  proprietor.  The  first  allotment  to  this  right  was 
made  April  14,  1729,  and  consisted  of  about  forty-two  acres 
of  land  on  Second  Hill,  fronting  the  old  Bostwick  place. 
Here,  in  the  spring  of  1738,  Caleb  built  his  house,  cleared  a 
little  part  of  his  land  and  planted  a  small  garden.  Late  in 
the  summer  he  returned  to  Milford.  In  September  he  mar- 
ried, in  Stratford,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Alice 
(Canfield)  Bassett,  his  first  cousin,  and,  in  a  few  days,  re- 
turned with  his  bride  to  the  little  home  on  Second  Hill.  On 
this  spot  he  lived  until  his  death,  February  29,  1796. 

This  house  was  the  home  of  his  youngest  son,  Major  Turrill, 
until  his  death  in  1847.  Among  my  very  earliest  recollections, 
is  a  visit  to  this  old  place.  It  was  in  1846.  I  had  just  passed 
my  fourth  birthday,  and  spent  my  first  day  at  school.  So  I, 
as  the  youngest  of  my  name,  was  taken  by  my  father  to  pay 
my  respects  to  the  oldest  living  member  of  my  family.  I  think 
that  this  visit  produced  one  of  the  most  lasting  impressions 
of  my  childhood.  I  can  recall  it  now,  sixty  years  after.  At 
that  time  Major  Turrill  was  seventy-eight  years  old.  The 
large  splint-bottomed  chair  in  which  he  was  seated  had  four 
enormous  legs,  seemingly  six  inches  in  diameter  at  least,  the 
two  in  front  continuing  up  to  support  the  broad  arms  on  which 
his  hands  reposed,  the  two  behind  extending  far  above  his 
head.  As  he  rested  his  head  against  the  broad  splint  back, 
he  produced  the  effect  of  a  grand  old  gentleman  in  a  rustic 

26 


THE  Two  ABIGAILS  27 

frame.  Major  Turrill  was  a  broad-shouldered  man  of  medium 
height,  very  upright  even  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  He  had  a 
large,  well-formed  head  and  a  strong  face  of  a  rather  stern 
cast  of  countenance,  while  his  hair,  which  was  abundant,  was 
steel  gray  rather  than  white.  My  father  presented  me  to  him 
as  the  youngest  of  the  race,  who  had  just  commenced  his  life 
work  by  his  first  day  at  school.  He  called  me  to  him  and, 
placing  a  broad  hand  upon  my  head,  said  to  my  father,  "  A 
fine  little  lad,"  then  turning  to  me  he  said,  "  You  must  grow 
up  as  fine  a  man  as  your  grandfather,  and  stand  for  your 
country  as  he  stood  for  it." 

The  marriage  of  Caleb  and  Abigail,  descended  as  they  were 
from  some  of  the  most  important  of  the  founder  families  (she, 
from  the  Baldwins,  Bryans,  Bruens,  and  Schells,  he,  from  the 
Fitches,  Pratts  and  Uffords,  and  both,  from  the  Canfields,  the 
Mallorys  and  the  Cranes),  was  an  event  of  great  importance 
in  Stratford  and  Milford;  and,  when  it  was  known  that  Caleb 
was  to  take  his  bride  to  the  new  Plantation  of  the  Weantinaug, 
the  interest  in  the  affair  was  much  deepened.  The  conditions 
in  those  days  were  quite  different  from  what  they  are  at  present. 
There  were  no  parlor  cars,  nor  honking  autos  to  whisk  the 
blushing  bride,  amid  a  shower  of  rice  and  old  shoes,  to  the 
seclusion  of  the  city  hotel,  there  to  hide  her  nuptial  joys  among 
the  unknown  multitude.  So  Caleb  and  Abigail  were  married 
in  that  pleasant  Stratford  home,  she,  surrounded  by  the  friends 
of  her  girlhood,  who,  if  the  records  are  to  be  believed,  were 
about  the  whole  community,  and  he,  supported  by  his  three 
stalwart  brothers  and  troops  of  cousins.  A  few  days  were 
passed  in  all  the  feasting  and  gayeties  of  the  times,  after 
which  the  young  couple,  surrounded  by  a  band  of  the  Strat- 
ford friends,  started  on  their  wedding  journey.  At  the  ferry 
across  the  "  Great  River,"  they  were  bidden  farewell  on  the 
Stratford  bank,  only  to  be  received  on  the  Milford  shore 
by  an  equally  enthusiastic  band  of  Milford  friends,  and  to  be 
escorted  to  Caleb's  home  in  Milford.  This  was  the  founder 
home  of  Roger,  and  Caleb  was  the  fourth  generation  to  bring 
a  bride  to  its  shelter.  His  bride  was  a  namesake  of  an  earlier 


28  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Abigail,  who,  ninety-nine  years  before,  had  come  with  her 
life  mate  to  the  then  wilderness  of  Milford.  Now,  this  sec- 
ond Abigail,  this  tenderly  reared  girl  of  scarce  eighteen  sum- 
mers, was  starting  with  her  life  mate,  for  another  wilderness — 
the  New  Milford. 

After  a  short  stay  at  the  old  Tyrrell  home,  the  wedding 
j  ourney  was  resumed,  up  the  "  Great  River "  to  the  Wean- 
tinaug  country.  The  "  house  plenishing,"  demanded  by  the 
customs  of  those  days,  had  been  furnished  by  Josiah  Bassett, 
and  had  been  securely  packed  in  a  stout  boat  to  be  rowed  and 
poled  up  the  river,  this  being,  at  that  time,  the  only  means  of 
conveying  heavy  articles  to  the  settlements  above.  The  var- 
ious animals  necessary  to  farming,  although  scarce  in  the  New 
plantations,  were  plentiful  in  the  older  ones ;  and,  since  Daniel 
Terrell  was  a  man  of  "  much  substance,"  as  the  records  say, 
an  abundant  supply  had  been  assembled  at  the  usual  starting 
place  for  the  journey  up  the  river  to  the  "  Cove,"  just  above 
Goodyear's  Island.  On  a  bright  September  morning,  sur- 
rounded by  brothers  and  sisters  from  both  families,  and  a  large 
company  of  friends  and  relatives,  the  newly-married  pair  set 
forth. 

The  accompanying  friends  went  as  far  as  the  first  "  noon- 
ing," somewhere  below  Derby.  There,  the  last  farewells  were 
said,  and  Caleb,  with  his  sweet  girl  wife  on  the  pillion  behind 
him,  journeyed  to  their  future  home.  They  moved  up  the  river, 
camping  at  night  in  some  quiet  nook,  their  boat,  with  their 
provisions  and  camp  equipment,  securely  fastened  to  the  river's 
bank.  The  bright  camp  fires  flashed  out  from  under  the  dense 
foliage  of  the  grand  old  primeval  forests  that  lined  the  banks 
of  the  Great  River,  while  this  pair  of  children  strolled  in  the 
deepening  gloom,  whispering  their  love,  their  plans  and  their 
hopes  of  happiness  in  their  home  in  the  wilderness.  For  four 
days  they  thus  leisurely  journeyed  towards  the  cot  on  Second 
Hill,  reaching  the  Cove  about  noon  of  the  fifth  day. 

By  the  mouth  of  the  little  brook  that  falls  into  the  Cove, 
just  at  the  foot  of  "  Lovers'  Leap,"  they  made  their  last  camp, 
while  their  boat  was  being  unloaded  and  a  more  permanent  camp 


THE  Two  ABIGAILS  29 

established,  for  it  would  be  several  days  before  their  belong- 
ings could  be  conveyed  to  their  home.  As  the  sun  was  sinking 
toward  the  cover  of  Green  Pond  and  Candlewood  Moun- 
tains, Caleb  led  his  bride  up  the  winding  trail  that  mounts  the 
southern  face  of  the  grand  old  cliffs  of  Falls  Mountain  to 
Waramaug's  Grave;  and,  from  that  sightly  place,  she  had 
her  first  view  of  the  beautiful  Weantinaug  Valley.  Wara- 
maug's grave  has  ever  been  held  an  almost  sacred  spot  by  the 
descendants  of  Caleb  and  Abigail.  In  my  early  youth,  on 
just  such  another  September  afternoon,  I  was  taken  by  my 
father  up  this  winding  trail,  and  sitting  on  the  grass  by  the 
side  of  those  honored  stones,  was  told  the  tale  I  have  been 
relating,  as  each  succeeding  generation  of  the  name  had  been 
told  it  before  me. 

The  wedding  journey  ended  in  that  rough  little  home  on 
Second  Hill.  There,  the  pair  lived  for  fifty-eight  years  in 
happy  wedlock;  there,  they  reared  a  family  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren (eleven  sons  and  three  daughters)  of  whom  all  came  to 
manhood  and  womanhood;  and,  thence,  in  1796,  at  nearly  four 
score  years,  Caleb  went  to  his  eternal  rest.  Abigail  survived 
him  more  than  twenty  years,  in  the  full  possession  of  all  her 
faculties,  and,  at  the  extreme  age  of  ninety-seven  years,  seven 
months,  and  eleven  days,  was  laid  beside  the  husband  of  her 
youth  and  the  loving  companion  of  so  many  years. 

A  wonderful  life  was  that  of  grandmother  Abigail.  She  lived 
through  four  French  and  Indian  wars,  and  two  wars  with 
England.  She  saw  one  son  go  to  the  last  French  war  and 
return  from  the  decisive  battle  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 
She  saw  six  sons  go  to  the  Revolution,  and,  having  faithfully 
performed  their  part  in  their  country's  struggle — at  the  siege 
of  Boston,  in  the  battle  of  'Long  Island  and  White  Plains,  in 
the  crossing  of  the  Delaware  and  at  Valley  Forge  with  Wash- 
ington, in  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Saratoga,  Princeton,  Mon- 
mouth,  and  Germantown — return  victorious  and  unscathed. 
She  also  saw  Stephen  and  Isaac  return  from  the  successful  and 
conclusive  struggle  at  Yorktown.  Finally  she  saw  four  of  her 
grandsons  return  from  the  second  contest  with  England. 


30  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  in  American  history  two  more 
remarkable  women  than  the  two  Abigails  of  the  Tyrrell  family. 
The  first,  Abigail  Ufford,  leaving  a  happy  English  home  in 
Essex,  braving  the  trials  and  privations  of  the  American  voyage 
of  1632,  lived  through  the  horrors  of  the  Pequot  War, 
and  went  with  her  young  husband  to  found  a  primitive  home 
in  Milford.  She  stood  among  that  company,  which,  under 
the  umbrageous  trees  of  Peter  Prudden's  home  lot,  listened  to 
the  stately  Ansantawa,  as,  plucking  a  branch  from  a  tree  and 
gathering  a  grassy  clod  from  the  earth,  sticking  the  branch  in 
the  clod  and  sprinkling  it  with  water  from  the  Milford  River, 
he  waved  it  in  the  air,  declaring  that  he  "  gave  to  them 
forever,  the  earth  with  all  thereon,  the  air,  and  the  waters 
above  and  below."  In  this  home,  thus  acquired,  she  lived  for 
fifty-five  years,  rearing  eleven  children ;  saw  her  sons  go  to 
King  Philip's  War ;  and  saw  them  when  they  had  reached 
man's  estate,  start  off  with  their  loving  helpmates,  as  their 
father  had  done  before  them,  to  found  other  homes — in  South- 
old,  in  Newark,  in  Stratford,  and  in  Woodbury.  Ninety-nine 
years  after,  comes  into  that  Milford  home  the  second  Abigail, 
to  venture  forth  in  her  turn,  like  the  first  Abigail,  into  the 
wilderness. 


NEW   MILFORD    IN    THE   WARS 

BY  GENERAL  HENRY  STUAHT  TURRILL 

FOR  the  first  fifty  years  from  its  settlement  by  John  Noble, 
the  town  of  New  Milford  had  very  little  concern  in  the  military 
affairs  of  the  colonies.  The  Colony  of  Connecticut  furnished 
soldiers  in  the  war  of  1711  and  in  1713;  and,  in  1721,  occurred 
a  great  outpouring  of  Connecticut  colonists  for  foreign  ser- 
vice. In  1745  a  call  came  to  Connecticut  from  the  sister 
colonies  for  large  numbers  of  troops  for  service  outside  her 
borders,  and,  again,  in  1755.  In  response  to  these  calls,  New 
Milford  seems  not  to  have  sent  any  men.  The  defense  of  their 
own  town  and  of  its  outlying  districts  was  about  all  the 
colonists  of  New  Milford  undertook  in  a  military  way,  this 
being  sufficiently  strenuous  to  engage  their  entire  attention. 

We  are  inclined,  in  these  later  days,  to  smile  at  the  train-band 
of  the  ancient  times,  but  the  train-band  service  of  our  Colonial 
fathers  was  one  of  exceeding  severity. 

The  first  company  in  New  Milford  was  organized  in  1715, 
and  was  commanded  for  twenty  years  by  Captain  Stephen 
Noble.  The  service  for  the  guarding  of  the  frontier  towns 
in  the  colony  of  Connecticut  was  an  exceedingly  arduous  one. 
Every  male  citizen,  except  the  aged,  the  infirm,  and  the  min- 
isters, was  obliged  to  do  military  duty.  These  militia-men 
had  to  provide  their  arms  and  equipment  at  their  own  expense, 
and,  if  any  business  required  their  absence  from  the  town,  they 
were  obliged  to  provide  a  substitute  and  to  pay,  themselves, 
for  his  services.  The  arms  which  each  soldier  furnished 
consisted  of  a  musket  or  rifle,  a  bullet  pouch  containing  twenty 
bullets,  a  powder  horn  containing  twenty  charges  of  powder, 
and  such  an  amount  of  cloth  or  buckskin  as  would  make  suffi- 
cient wadding  for  this  number  of  charges.  These  requirements 

31 


32  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

were  constant,  and  frequent  examinations  were  made  to  see 
that  all  of  the  men  of  the  company  complied  with  them. 

As  New  Milford  was,  during  most  of  these  first  fifty  years 
of  its  existence,  a  frontier  town,  a  line  of  guards  was  estab- 
lished which  reached  across  the  country  from  Woodbury  to 
the  New  York  boundary,  and  the  members  of  the  company 
had  to  take  turns  in  patrolling  this  line. 

The  second  company  in  New  Milford  was  organized  in  1744, 
and  both  of  these  companies  continued  to  exist  until  the  Revo- 
lution. 

The  first  recorded  service  of  the  New  Milford  men  beyond 
their  own  borders  occurred  about  1758.  The  greatest  accu- 
mulation of  men  found  on  the  record  is  a  company  raised  for 
the  French  and  Indian  War  in  1759.  It  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Whiting  and  was  known  as  the  "  Tenth  Company  of 
Colonel  David  Wooster's  Third  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Levy." 
The  New  Milford  men  were  First  Lieutenant  Hezekiah  Baldwin, 
Sergeant  Israel  Baldwin,  Corporal  John  Bronson,  Drummer 
Zadock  Bostwick.  The  privates  were  Isaac  Hitchcock,  Barrall 
Buck  (there  are  two  mentions  of  Buck,  he  being  recorded  also 
as  David  Buck),  Martin  Warner,  David  Hall,  Dominie  Doug- 
las (whether  Dominie  stood  for  minister  or  was  just  the  bap- 
tismal name,  I  do  not  know),  Thomas  Oviatt,  Daniel  Daton, 
Joseph  Lynes,  Ashel  Baldwin,  Elnathan  Blatchford,  Ebenezer 
Terrill,  William  Gould,  David  Collings,  Joseph  Jones,  Moses 
Fisher,  Zachariah  Ferris,  Jesse  Fairchild,  Joseph  Smith,  Ben- 
jamin Wallis,  Benjamin  Hawley,  Moses  Johnson. 

The  Colonial  Records  do  not  show  where  this  regiment  was 
used.  Colonel  Wooster  had  a  long  Colonial  service  and  marched 
with  several  expeditions  toward  Canada.  How  far  these  men 
marched  is  not  on  record.  They  were  enlisted  in  the  spring, 
and  seem  to  have  returned  to  their  homes  in  the  fall.  Whether 
they  went  as  far  as  the  expedition  of  that  year  toward  Canada 
does  not  appear.  Possibly  family  traditions  might  throw  some 
light  on  the  matter. 

In  the  Eleventh  Company  of  the  Second  Regiment,  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Whiting  commanding,  Ruben  Bostwick  was  ensign, 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  33 

and  the  records  show  that  Private  James  Bennett  went  from 
the  town  in  1760. 

In  the  calls  from  New  Milford  of  1759  and  1761  occur  the 
names  of  Hezekiah  Baldwin,  Second  Lieutenant,  Second  Com- 
pany, Third  Regiment  (Lieutenant  Colonel  Hinman  command- 
ing), Israel  Baldwin,  and  Josiah  Baldwin.  The  records  show 
that,  in  the  same  year,  Ashel  Turrell,  son  of  Nathan,  with  his 
brother  Nathan,  went  from  the  town  to  the  army  in  New  York 
or  Canada.  Caleb  Turrill,  Enoch  Turrill,  Isaac  Turrill,  sons 
of  Caleb  Terrell,  also  went  in  the  same  organization.  John 
Terrell  is  mentioned  as  being  in  the  war  (1761),  but  I  judge 
that  to  be  a  mistake,  as  there  was  no  John  Terrell  in  the  town 
of  New  Milford  of  age  sufficient  to  answer  that  call. 

The  Eleventh  Company  of  the  Fourth  Regiment  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Josiah  Canfield,  the  Regiment  being  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Wooster.  There  appear  the  names  of 
Ashel,  son  of  Nathan  Terrell,  and  of  Enoch,  son  of  Caleb 
Turrill. 

In  the  Tenth  Company  of  the  Second  Regiment  (Colonel 
Nathaniel  Whiting's)  commanded  by  Captain  Gideon  Stod- 
dard,  the  name  of  William  Drinkwater  appears.  The  following 
New  Milford  names  are  scattered  through  the  Second,  Third 
and  Fourth  Connecticut  regiments:  Bronson,  Baldwin,  Beach, 
Bardsley,  Beebe,  Bennett,  Boardman,  Booth,  Buck,  Buell 
(David,  afterward  a  Revolutionary  soldier)  Bostwick,  Camp, 
Comstock,  Couch,  Crane,  Curtis,  Drinkwater,  and  Ferris. 

Captain  Joseph  Canfield  raised  a  company  in  1758,  of  which 
Jeremiah  Canfield  was  the  drummer.  The  last  edition  of  the 
Colonial  Records  (issued  only  a  year  or  so  ago),  the  best  ex- 
isting authority  upon  the  period,  gives  merely  the  names  of 
the  members  of  this  company  and  the  length  of  their  service, 
with  dates  of  enlistment  and  of  discharge.  Exactly  what  role 
they  played  it  is  impossible  now  to  find  out.  There  are  many 
traditions  in  the  families  of  their  doings,  but  these  family  tra- 
ditions are  not  as  full  as  those  of  the  Revolution,  which,  fol- 
lowing so  quickly,  effaced  memories  which  would  otherwise 
have  survived.  There  are  some  tales  of  Bill  Drinkwater,  of 


34  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Stephen  Terrell,  and  Thomas  Drinkwater,  but  they  are  so  in- 
definite that  all  which  can  be  gleaned  from  them  is  that  these 
men  went  as  far  as  Quebec,  and  were  in  the  battle  on  the 
Heights  of  Abraham,  and,  possibly,  in  some  of  the  others. 

Most  of  the  members  of  this  company  must  have  returned, 
as  their  names  appear  in  the  town  affairs  after  this  period. 
There  is  no  record  of  any  loss  of  life,  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  find,  among  the  New  Milford  men  who  participated 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War.  Very  little  disturbance  from 
Indians  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Milford  during  this 
war;  there  is  but  one  instance  of  trouble,  I  think,  recorded. 
A  very  good  understanding  with  the  Indians  was  attained  by 
the  warm  friendship  between  Waramaug,  chief  of  all  the  tribes 
of  the  region,  and  the  New  Milford  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Board- 
man,  who  attended  old  Waramaug  on  his  deathbed.  Quite 
an  interesting  tale  is  told  of  his  death,  but  that  will  probably 
be  recorded  in  another  place.  After  the  close  of  the  French 
and  Indian  War  there  seems  to  have  been  little  military  activity 
in  New  Milford,  except  the  keeping  up  of  the  two  companies 
under  the  rigorous  acts  of  the  Colonial  Guard.  These  were 
officered  and  drilled  as  they  had  been  from  their  formation. 
It  is  not  till  the  period  of  the  Revolution  is  reached  that  the 
town  takes  on  very  much  of  a  military  character. 

Canfield,  Bostwick  and  Noble  seem  to  have  been  the  most 
prominent  names  in  military  affairs  during  the  Colonial  period. 

The  first  company  of  which  mention  is  made  in  connection 
with  the  Revolution  is  that  of  Lieutenant  Ebenezer  Couch, 
who  served  in  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Andrew  Ward.  This 
company  does  not  appear  at  all  in  either  the  Connecticut  War 
Book  or  the  rolls  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society.  The 
first  notice  of  Ebenezer  Couch  in  the  Connecticut  War  Book 
is  of  his  commanding  a  company  of  Colonel  Canfield's  regi- 
ment at  West  Point  and  Peekskill  in  1777.  The  only  record 
of  the  company  is  in  a  roll  which  was  in  the  possession  of 
the  late  Colonel  William  J.  Starr  of  New  Milford,  and  which, 
I  suppose,  was  among  his  papers  when  he  died.  It  was  raised 
in  May,  1775.  The  names  of  its  members  are  given  in  the 


NEW    MiLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  35 

roll  of  New  Milford  men  in  the  Revolution,  which  is  appended 
to  this  article  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

Its  history  is  rather  indefinite.  It  seems  to  have  been  raised 
for  the  Lexington  alarm,  but,  being  too  late  for  that  purpose, 
it  probably  went  to  the  Sound  or  to  New  York.  The  date 
of  its  discharge  does  not  appear  on  any  record,  but  most  of 
the  men  are  soon  found  on  the  rolls  of  other  companies  in  the 
service. 

In  July,  1775,  a  company  was  formed  in  New  Milford, 
commanded  by  Captain  Isaac  Bostwick,  who  was  first  com- 
missioned on  the  sixteenth  of  that  month  and,  later,  was  re- 
commissioned  at  Boston.  It  joined  the  regiment  of  Colonel 
Charles  Webb,  under  the  name  of  the  Seventh  Connecticut 
Levy,  served  along  the  Sound,  and  then  went  to  the  siege  of 
Boston.  Its  term  of  service  was  to  expire  in  December,  1775. 
About  the  time  it  was  to  be  discharged,  it  was  reorganized 
as  the  Nineteenth  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Line,  enlisted  for 
one  year.  Most  of  the  men  of  Captain  Bostwick's  company, 
as  well  as  those  of  Lieutenant  Couch's  company,  appear  in  the 
new  organization.  The  company  and  regiment  remained  at 
the  siege  of  Boston  until  after  the  evacuation  of  that  place 
by  the  British,  when  they  accompanied  General  Washington 
to  New  York,  going  by  land  as  far  as  New  London  and  thence 
by  boat.  They  were  put  to  work  at  first  upon  the  fortifications 
of  New  York,  then,  on  the  completion  of  that  work,  they  were 
taken  over  to  Brooklyn,  and  were  employed,  on  the  left  of 
the  line,  in  completing  the  fortifications  there.  They  were 
not  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  but  they  covered  the 
retreat,  after  that  disaster,  and  played  an  important  part  in 
the  subsequent  movements  about  New  York.  They  rendered 
some  aid  to  the  Brigade  of  Connecticut  Militia  in  the  disastrous 
affair  of  Kipp's  Bay,  moved  with  the  army  across  the  Har- 
lem to  Westchester,  and  were  hotly  engaged,  with  considerable 
loss,  in  the  battle  of  White  Plains. 

After  this  battle,  and  before  the  capture  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, they  were  brought  down  to  Spuyten  Duyvil  creek,  just  at 
its  junction  with  the  Hudson,  and  were  kept  there  furnishing 


36  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

guards,  orderlies  and  escorts  for  the  movements  about  the  fort. 
While  the  Jumel  mansion  (then  the  old  Morris  house)  was  being 
used  as  the  American  Headquarters,  many  of  Captain  Bost- 
wick's  men  were  frequently  on  duty  about  the  place  as  guards 
and  orderlies.  The  following  is  a  tradition  for  which  the  only 
authority  is  the  stories  told  by  the  old  soldiers  around  John 
Turrill's  fireside  many  years  after:  During  the  engagement 
of  the  British  with  Fort  Washington,  a  sergeant's  guard  under 
the  command  of  David  Buell  of  New  Milford,  which  had  been 
placed  at  a  picket  station  near  the  base  of  Inwood  Hill,  were 
separated,  by  the  rapid  advance  of  the  Hessians  up  the  Har- 
lem River  (a  movement,  which,  but  for  the  quickness  of  a 
soldier's  wife  at  the  Morris  house,  would  have  resulted  in  the 
capture  of  General  Washington),  from  their  regiment  across 
the  creek  and  obliged  to  fall  back  to  Fort  Washington.  Being 
hotly  pursued  by  the  advancing  enemy,  they  were  forced  to 
take  cover  under  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  to  avoid  the  fire 
of  almost  an  entire  regiment.  A  small  party  of  the  Hessians 
endeavored  to  cut  off  their  retreat  to  the  fort  and  one  of  them 
succeeded  in  jumping  down  the  bank  in  front  of  the  New 
Milford  men.  Roger  Blaisdell  was  in  the  advance,  and,  as  the 
German  stumbled  down  the  bank  in  front  of  him,  pushed  him 
with  a  thrust  of  his  bayonet  into  the  river  and  the  party 
reached  temporary  safety  in  Fort  Washington. 

The  Fort  was  soon  captured  by  the  British,  however,  and 
our  New  Milford  men  found  themselves  in  the  unfortunate 
position  of  prisoners  of  war. 

The  prisoners,  according  to  the  stories  told  by  them  after- 
ward, were  moved  down  to  a  point  about  where  Union  Square 
is  now,  and  were  there  confined  in  a  barn,  for  three  days,  before 
any  food  was  given  them.  Then,  wagons  from  the  British 
slaughter-houses  arrived,  loaded  with  the  hock  bones  of  the 
cattle  killed  for  the  British  troops.  These  wagons  having  been 
backed  up  to  the  door  of  the  barn,  the  hock  bones  were 
shoveled  in  on  the  floor,  while  the  prisoners  scrambled  for 
what  they  could  get.  It  is  said  that  their  hunger  was  so  great 
that  they  seized  the  bones  and  gnawed  them  as  a  dog  would. 


NEW  MIL-FORD  IN  THE  WARS  37 

They  were  kept  for  three  days  in  this  barn,  and  were  then 
conveyed  down  to  that  much-dreaded  place  of  confinement, 
the  Old  Sugar  House  Prison,  a  sugar  store-house,  which  was 
between  Ann  and  Fulton  streets.  It  was  a  building  with  a 
large  central  portion,  and  had  two  wings  which  projected  on 
either  side  of  a  little  courtyard.  There  were  no  cellars  and  the 
floor  was  of  puncheons  (hewn  logs  eight  or  ten  inches  thick)  laid 
loose  on  the  floor  timbers.  It  was  very  strongly  constructed 
in  order  that  it  might  sustain  the  weight  of  the  heavy  casks 
of  sugar  and  molasses  which  came  from  the  West  Indies. 

The  place  where  our  twelve  New  Milford  men  slept  was 
just  inside  one  of  the  doors.  The  two  projecting  rooms  on 
either  side  were  occupied  by  the  guard  of  the  prison  and  the 
officers,  respectively.  A  sentry  paced  up  and  down  the  front 
from  the  guard  room  to  the  room  of  the  officers.  The  provisions 
furnished  to  the  prisoners  were  exceedingly  scanty  and  of  so 
poor  a  quality  that  they  had  been  condemned  as  unfit  for  the  use 
of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  British  army.  Their  rations 
consisted  mainly  of  moldy  and  wormy  pilot  bread.  This  regime, 
following  the  "  bone  diet "  of  the  barn,  soon  reduced  them  to 
the  verge  of  starvation.  These  poor  Continentals  had  little 
or  no  money  with  which  to  purchase  favors  and  they  were 
soon  in  a  very  bad  way.  The  British  profited  by  this  situation 
to  try  to  get  the  Americans  to  renounce  the  Patriot  cause 
and  enlist  in  the  British  army.  A  guinea  a  head  was  offered 
to  each  British  soldier  who  would  induce  a  rebel  to  join  their 
cause.  The  English  guard  was  well  fed  and  it  was  very  tan- 
talizing to  our  New  Milford  men  to  see  the  burly  Englishmen 
enjoying  their  abundant  repasts.  Necessity  is  the  mother  of 
invention,  however,  and  our  men  soon  formed  a  plan  to  obtain 
some  of  the  much  coveted  food.  The  cooking  for  the  guard 
was  done  in  the  room  occupied  by  them  and  a  limited  amount 
of  provisions  was,  from  time  to  time,  brought  there.  Late 
one  afternoon,  a  half-barrel  of  mess  pork  was  brought  in  and 
opened  for  use,  and  left  standing  under  the  charge  of  the 
sentry  for  the  night.  This  was  our  boys'  opportunity  and, 
as  soon  as  the  other  prisoners  were  sound  asleep,  they  very 


38  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

quietly  raised  one  of  the  logs  in  their  floor  space  and  scooped 
out  a  little  hole  in  the  sand  underneath.  A  place  having  been 
thus  prepared  for  their  expected  booty,  they  then  proceeded  to 
get  the  much  desired  pork.  The  night  was  so  dark  that  a  man 
could  not  be  recognized  at  any  distance  and  this  was  much 
in  their  favor.  Roger  Blaisdell  quietly  approached  the  sen- 
try and,  explaining  that  he  was  tired  of  starving,  asked  to 
be  told  where  he  could  go  to  enlist  in  the  British  army,  adding 
that  he  did  not  dare  to  come  when  the  other  prisoners  were 
awake.  The  sentry,  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  the  guinea, 
and  fearing  that,  if  he  let  the  man  go,  some  other  would 
secure  the  much-coveted  prize,  told  Blaisdell  to  walk  up  and 
down  his  beat  with  him  until  he  should  be  relieved,  when  he 
would  take  him  to  the  officer  of  the  day.  Accordingly,  they 
paced  up  and  down  the  sentry's  beat  until,  when  a  good  oppor- 
tunity occurred  at  the  point  farthest  from  the  quarters  of  the 
guard,  Blaisdell  hit  his  companion  a  blow  behind  the  ear 
which  would  have  felled  an  ox  and  which  knocked  the  sentry 
senseless.  The  men,  who  were  on  the  watch,  rushed  to  the 
pork  barrel,  scooped  out  an  armful  of  pork  each,  quickly  de- 
posited it  in  the  hole  that  they  had  prepared,  replaced  the 
plank,  and  dropped  down  upon  it,  snoring  to  beat  a  bass 
drum.  Of  course  an  alarm  was  raised  and  the  prisoners  were 
turned  out,  but  the  sentry  was  too  much  shaken  up  by  the 
blow  to  be  able  to  tell  much  about  the  matter.  The  loss  of 
the  pork  was  not  discovered  that  night,  if  at  all,  so  there  was 
nothing  to  direct  attention  to  the  men,  and  they  escaped  de- 
tection. Each  night,  while  the  other  prisoners  were  sleeping, 
the  enterprising  twelve  would  quietly  raise  the  plank  and  have 
a  meal  of  raw  salt  pork.  In  after  days,  those  of  the  group 
who  survived  the  prison  experiences  (particularly  Sergeant 
David  Buell)  used  to  refer  to  their  prison  pork  as  the  sweetest 
food  that  they  had  ever  eaten,  and  for  years  the  standing 
toast  at  their  reunions  was,  "  To  Roger  Blaisdell's  pork 
barrel." 

Within  the  last  few  months  I  have  compared  my  recollections 
with  those  of  other  descendants  of  these  men  and  have  found 
that  the  traditions  of  these  events  agree  so  nearly  as  to  war- 


NEW    MiLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  39 

rant  the  belief  that  there  was  much  truth  in  the  stories  told 
by  the  old  veterans. 

After  being  confined  for  a  number  of  weeks  in  the  sugar 
house,  the  prisoners  were  taken  to  the  prison  ship  Dutton.  Two 
hundred  of  them  were  transported  to  Milford  and  put  ashore 
there.  Twenty  were  dead  before  the  vessel  arrived  and  twenty 
more  died  very  soon  after.  All  the  forty  are  buried  in  the 
graveyard  of  that  place.  Of  the  twelve  men  of  New  Mil- 
ford,  tradition  narrates  the  return  of  only  four,  Roger  Blais- 
dell,  David  Buell,  William  Drinkwater  and  Lyman  Noble. 
Through  friends  in  Milford,  they  were  able  to  secure  a  horse, 
and  thus  worked  their  way  back  to  New  Milford,  reaching  there 
about  March,  1777.  This  group  was  eliminated  from  Captain 
Isaac  Bostwick's  company  and  did  no  further  service  until 
their  companions  came  home  from  the  successful  fields  of  Tren- 
ton and  Princeton.  Shortly  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Washington, 
the  regiment  containing  Captain  Bostwick's  company  was 
ordered  to  Philadelphia.  It  was  with  Washington  at  German- 
town  before  the  army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley 
Forge.  Its  term  of  service  was  to  expire  December  20,  1776. 
But  Washington  was  then  planning  the  move  which  ended  in 
the  crossing  of  the  Delaware  at  Trenton,  and  many  of  its  mem- 
bers remained  in  service,  at  his  personal  request,  for  a  six 
weeks'  campaign. 

Most  of  the  men  of  Captain  Bostwick's  company  were  with 
Washington  and  crossed  the  Delaware  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
December,  1776,  and,  on  the  early  morning  of  that  day,  they 
were  in  the  battle  of  Trenton,  where  they  assisted  in  the 
capture  of  the  Hessian  regiment.  They  were  engaged  in 
the  succeeding  battle  at  Princeton,  January  3,  1777,  and  were 
finally  discharged  on  the  first  of  February,  1777,  when  they 
returned  to  New  Milford. 

Captain  Bostwick  appeared  as  a  leader  in  the  Danbury 
alarm.  With  him  was  John  Terrell  and  David  Buell, 
who  had  so  far  receovered  from  his  prison  experiences  as  to 
join  his  old  companions  on  that  occasion.  Roger  Blaisdell  does 
not  appear,  but  Bill  Drinkwater  does.  With  them  was  a  New 
Milford  man  who  had  been  in  Captain  Couch's  first  company. 


4-0  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cue  Ruben  Phillips.  Ruben  Phillips  was  a  colored  man,  living 
in  New  Milford,  who  had  evidently  been  the  cook  in  Captain 
Bost wick's  company.  The  descendants  of  Ruben  Phillips  were 
living,  in  my  time,  in  the  little  house  where  the  road  goes  up 
Chicken  Hill  toward  Bridgewater,  and  this  family  knew  that 
their  ancestor  had  been  in  the  Revolution  with  my  grandfather. 
A  descendant  of  this  Phillips,  Chester  Phillips  by  name,  volun- 
teered in  the  Twenty-ninth  Connecticut  Infantry  in  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion  and  was  killed  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Vir- 
ginia. Truly  the  Revolutionary  blood  of  New  Milford  was 
as  good  in  the  black  man  as  in  the  white. 

The  group  from  Captain  Bostwick's  company  were  engaged 
four  days  in  the  Danbury  alarm.  The  following  story  re- 
garding this  little  band  is  extant:  The  British  had  commenced 
their  retreat  from  Danbury  by  way  of  Ridgefield  and  these 
men  were  following  them  up  very  earnestly,  pressing  close  upon 
a  grenadier  regiment  which  was  the  rear  guard  of  the  British 
force.  John  Terrell,  WilliamJNoble,  Bill  Drinkwater  and 
David  Buell  rushed  together  up  one  side  of  the  famous  rock 
in  Ridgefield,  while  the  grenadiers  were  still  on  the  other  side. 
One  of  them  (which  one  I  do  not  know),  showing  himself  im- 
prudently, was  shot  by  the  British  grenadiers.  Of  the  truth 
of  this  story  I  have  never  been  able  to  learn.  It  is  firmly 
believed  in  and  about  Ridgefield  and  also  in  New  Milford. 
There  is  a  plate  on  the  rock,  I  think,  commemorating  the  death 
of  one  of  the  company. 

A  number  of  men  from  New  Milford  were  in  the  company 
of  Captain  Daniel  Pendleton  of  Watertown,  which  belonged 
to  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Judthon  Baldwin,  a  regiment  of 
artificers  that  served  under  the  direction  of  the  Quarter-Master- 
General  as  a  Construction  Corps.  This  regiment  was  in  all 
the  engagements  of  the  war  except  those  about  Boston  and 
those  of  the  northern  army  above  Albany,  in  more  engage- 
ments, in  fact,  than  any  other  body  of  Connecticut  troops. 
In  1780,  when  General  Green  took  command  of  the  Southern 
Department,  he  requested  that  Captain  Pendleton's  company 
be  sent  to  him.  The  company  joined  him,  as  requested,  and 


NEW    MiLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  41 

was  the  only  body  of  Connecticut  men  that  served  south  of 
Virginia.  It  was  on  duty  there  until  the  disbanding  of  the 
army  in  November,  1783. 

This  was  the  only  considerable  group  of  men  that  went  as 
a  body  from  New  Milford  after  the  first  two  companies;  per- 
haps it  might  be  called  the  third  company.  The  enlistments 
were  for  short  periods  and  the  changes  were  quite  frequent, 
until  1778  and  1779,  when  enlistments  began  to  be  made  for 
three  years  or  the  war. 

New  Milford  is  credited  on  the  Connecticut  War  Records 
and  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society's  rolls  with  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  men  in  the  war,  many  of  whom  served  two 
and  three,  and  some  even  four  terms  of  enlistment. 

While  these  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  were  in  the  field  doing 
military  duty,  their  fathers  and  brothers  were  at  home  laboring 
for  their  support;  not  so  easy  a  task  when  it  is  remembered 
that  in  the  first  three  years  of  the  war  the  Colony  of  Connecti- 
cut paid  for  the  maintenance  and  equipment  of  her  troops  in 
the  field,  for  the  damage  to  her  people  in  the  British  raids  of 
Danbury  and  Norwalk,  the  immense  sum  of  £516,606.  During 
the  last  four  years  of  the  war  the  Continental  Congress  fixed 
Connecticut's  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  war  at  $1,800,000 
a  year.  At  times  the  tax  rates  were  three  shillings  on  the  pound. 
The  eight  years  of  the  war  were  years  of  toil  and  suf- 
fering to  those  on  the  sterile  hill-farms,  where  the  striving 
and  stress  were  about  as  great  as  in  the  midst  of  the  dangers 
of  the  battle-field.  Indeed,  much  of  the  war  had  come  to  these 
farmers'  very  doors,  for  the  Tories  of  Squash  Hollow  and  the 
Quakers  of  Quaker  Hill  and  Straits  Mountain  had  not  proved 
themselves  exactly  the  men  of  peace  that  they  professed  to  be. 

The  leading  family  of  New  Milford  in  the  Revolution  was 
the  Bostwicks.  There  were  ten  of  the  name  in  the  service 
during  the  war — Amos,  Benjamin,  Elijah,  Elisha,  Ebenezer, 
Isaac,  Israel,  Joel,  Oliver  and  Solomon.  The  next  was  the 
Turrills,  of  whom  there  are  nine  on  the  records — Ashel,  Caleb, 
Ebenezer,  Enoch,  Isaac,  Joel,  John,  Nathan  and  Stephen. 
The  Canfields  have  seven  names  to  their  credit — Amos,  Ezra, 


42 

John,  Josiah,  Moses,  Nathaniel  and  Samuel — and  the  Baldwins, 
four — Jared,  John,  Jonas  and  Theodore. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  all  the  actions  in  which  New 
Milford  men  were  concerned  during  the  Revolution  without 
giving  a  history  of  the  entire  war.  Some  of  the  marked  battles 
in  which  they  were  engaged  were  those  about  Philadelphia, 
the  Mud  Forts,  Germantown  and  Monmouth.  They  partici- 
pated in  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware  from  Princeton  and, 
later,  were  at  the  surrender  of  Germantown.  New  Milford 
men  were  with  Morgan  at  Saratoga  and  tradition  says  that 
they  were  at  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
with  Ethan  Allen.  Colonel  Warner  of  Roxbury,  the  companion 
of  Allen,  who  was  well  and  favorably  known  in  New  Milford, 
had  many  friends,  some  of  whom  may  have  gone  with  him  on 
that  expedition.  There  may  be  some  truth  in  this  story,  there- 
fore, as  it  is  extant. 

According  to  one  of  the  legends  current  in  Western  Connec- 
ticut, a  troop  of  New  Milford  and  Roxbury  men  on  their  way 
to  the  Hampshire  Grants  to  join  Ethan  Allen,  assembled  at 
New  Milford.  Their  first  morning's  march  was  up  the  Housa- 
tonic  to  a  little  spring  which  comes  out  near  the  present  rail- 
road a  short  distance  below  Merwinsville.  There,  they  were 
met  by  Deacon  Gaylord,  who  had  crossed  the  river  from  his 
place  in  a  canoe,  with  a  lunch,  which  included  a  bottle  of  apple- 
jack, and  a  jug  of  hard  cider.  He  distributed  these  liquid 
refreshments  so  freely,  deacon  though  he  was,  that  the  party 
were  quite  jolly  before  they  moved  on  to  their  night  camp, 
which  was  to  be  at  Bull's  Bridge.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth 
of  this  story,  it  is  evident  that  the  New  Milford  men's  eyes  were 
turned  very  much  toward  the  Northern  Department,  and  that 
many  of  them  served  in  the  operations  of  that  department. 

New  Milford  men  were  present  at  the  famous  charge  of  Mad 
Anthony  Wayne  at  Stony  Point.  A  company  of  pioneers  was 
selected  to  go  forward  and  cut  away  the  pickets  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  advance  of  the  charging  column  up  into  the  fort. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  Lieutenant  David  Buell  was  one  of 
these  pioneers,  and,  as  he  was  in  the  engagement,  the  tradition 
is  probably  correct.  The  pioneers,  having  cut  away  the  pickets, 


scattered  to  the  right  and  left,  in  accordance  with  their  orders, 
leaving  the  way  open  for  the  charging  column,  which  began 
the  ascent.  The  cannoneer  of  the  fort  was  swinging  his  lin- 
stock to  fire  a  cannon  which  pointed  right  down  the  line.  His- 
tory gives  it  that,  at  this  critical  moment,  one  of  the  pioneers 
rushed  forward  with  his  axe  and  knocked  the  cannoneer  over 
before  he  was  able  to  apply  the  linstock,  thus  saving  the  ex- 
pedition; and  legend  claims  that  this  pioneer  was  Sergeant 
David  Buell.  Legend  goes  on  to  say  that,  in  the  fort  at  Stony 
Point,  the  Continental  soldiers  found  a  number  of  Tories  (some 
from  the  vicinity  of  New  Milford)  who  had  retired  thither 
for  protection.  These  Tories  were  paraded  about  the  fort  with 
ropes  around  their  necks  and  David  Buell,  as  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction, led  the  procession,  holding  a  rope  around  the  neck 
of  the  most  valiant  and  troublesome  Tory.  David  Buell  re- 
ceived a  pension  for  his  services  and  was  long  a  resident  of 
New  Milford,  where,  I  believe,  he  is  buried.  His  house  was  on 
Second  Hill,  and,  in  his  advanced  years,  he  did  little  but  travel 
about  among  his  friends,  frequently  stopping  for  some  time 
with  a  sister  who  lived  in  "  Pug  Lane  "  (now  Park  Lane).  His 
favorite  resort,  when  he  was  with  his  sister,  was  Mr.  Cush- 
man's  Tavern,  which  is  still  standing  on  the  road  going  up  to 
Second  Hill  and  Northville.  It  was  his  morning  custom  to 
go  over  to  the  tavern  and  meet  his  friends  there.  It  was  ob- 
served that,  whenever  an  Englishman  and  Tory  happened  into 
Cushman's  place,  David  Buell  immediately  left.  He  would  go 
home  and  say  "  Umph !  an  Englishman  was  there ;  I  could  not 
stay."  Another  favorite  gathering  place  of  many  of  these 
old  soldiers  was  at  the  home  of  John  Turrill,  and  it  was  there 
that  they  celebrated  the  anniversaries.  Their  habit  was  to  gather 
in  the  morning,  go  and  make  a  call  on  Captain  Isaac  Bost- 
wick,  drink  a  glass  of  wine,  and  then  return  to  dinner  at  John 
Turrill's  home,  where  they  would  afterward  tell  their  stories. 
Many  of  these  stories  were  quite  lurid,  possibly  by  reason  of 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  John  Turrill's  hard  cider  and  apple- 
jack; for  John,  although  extremely  temperate  himself,  is  said 
never  to  have  stinted  his  former  companions  in  arms  either 
in  food  or  drink. 


44  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Stephen  Turrill  was  another  noted  man  in  the  regiments. 
He  belonged  at  first  to  the  company  of  Ebenezer  Couch,  but, 
soon  after  drifted  into  a  number  of  organizations  from  New 
Milford  which  served  about  West  Point.  He  was  in  that 
part  of  the  country  for  nearly  two  years.  There  are  num- 
berless stories  of  his  encounters  with  the  Tories.  One  of  these 
is  as  follows :  A  band  to  which  he  was  attached,  while  marching 
through  the  lower  part  of  the  Debatable  Land,  came  to  the 
house  of  a  Dutch  Tory.  They  wanted  something  to  eat  and 
asked  the  woman  of  the  house  if  she  could  give  them  some  milk 
or  anything.  She  very  gruffly  told  them  that  there  was  nothing 
in  the  house  to  eat,  that  she  had  nothing  for  the  Rebels. 
Just  then,  something  called  her  out  of  doors  for  a  minute, 
and  the  soldiers  saw  that,  over  the  fireplace,  in  a  large  pot,  the 
dinner  was  boiling.  Stephen  Turrill's  inquisitive  mind  deter- 
mined to  know  what  was  in  that  pot.  Accordingly,  he  pulled 
off  the  lid,  saw  a  fine  bag  pudding,  pulled  it  out,  put  it  in  his 
haversack,  and  marched  away.  The  woman  quickly  discovered 
her  loss  and  came  crying  that  the  Rebels  had  stolen  her  pud- 
ding. The  sergeant  in  command  marched  by  his  men  and  then 
told  the  woman  there  was  no  evidence  of  her  pudding  there; 
but,  after  she  had  retreated  a  short  distance,  he  said  "  Turrill, 
did  you  get  that  woman's  pudding?  "  "Yes,"  said  he,  "here 
it  is  in  my  haversack."  The  company  passed  on  and  dined 
sumptuously. 

Scattered  over  the  Debatable  Land  were  little  guard  houses, 
in  each  of  which  a  guard  was  kept  for  a  week  at  a  time,  to 
intercept  the  approach  of  British  or  Tories.  These  guard 
houses  usually  consisted  of  two  rooms,  a  front  and  back  one. 
On  one  occasion 

[General  Turrill's  narrative  of  "  New  Milford  in  the  Wars,"  was  tragi- 
cally cut  short  at  this  point  by  his  sudden  death  in  the  office  of  the 
Grafton  Press,  where  he  was  dictating  it.  It  has  seemed  more  fitting  to 
leave  this  narrative  in  its  unfinished  condition,  as  a  sort  of  memorial  to 
him,  than  to  have  it  completed  by  another.  Any  inconsistencies  that  may 
exist  in  it  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  it  did  not  have  the  benefit  of 
his  correction  and  revision. — EDITOR.] 


HENRY  STUART  TURRILL 
Brig.  Gen.   U.  S.  Army 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  45 

THE    COLONIAL    WARS 

The  names  given  in  the  rolls  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society  are  as  follows: 

RANK.                     NAME,    COMPANY,   AND    REGIMENT.  LEVY. 

Privt.          Ashmon,  Justus,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Sergt.      '  Baldwin,  Israel,  llth  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  " 

Lieut.          Baldwin,  Hezekiah,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

Privt.          Baldwin,  Ashael,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  " 

"             Baldwin,  Benjamin,  3rd  Co.,  1st  Reg.  1762 

"             Baldwin,  Joseph,  10th  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Ball,  Joseph,  1st  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1759 

"             Baker,  Thomas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Bartholomew,  Lemuel,  2nd  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

"              Bartholomew,  Noah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Beach,  John,  1st  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"              Beardsley,  Amos,  2nd  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

"              Beecher,  Nathaniel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Bell,  Robert,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Benedict,  Ezra,  llth  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

"              Beeman,   Ben j ah,   llth   Co.,   4th  Reg.  " 

"             Bisbee,  Joseph,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Bliss,  Gillum,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Botchford,  Elnathan,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Bostwick,  Elijah,  2nd  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  " 

"             Bostwick,  Joseph,   llth   Co.,   4th   Reg.  " 
"             Bostwick,  Robert,  Jr.* 

Drummer  Bostwick,  Zadoch,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 
Corp.          Brownson,  Benjamin,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg. 

Privt.          Brownson,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Brownson,  Abram,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 
"             Brownson,  Israel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg. 

"              Brownson,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Birch,  Joseph,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Bradley,  Jahuel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Bryan,  Augustus,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

*  In  Orcutt's  "  History  of  New  Milford,"  but  not  in  the  Connecticut 

Historical  Society  Rolls. 


46  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

RANK.               NAME,  COMPANY,  AND  REGIMENT.  LEVY. 

Privt.          Buck,  Bethial,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Buck,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Buck,  Daniel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Botchford,  Elnathan,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Buell,  David,  6th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1759 

"            Buell,  Abel,  6th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

"             Bunce,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Capt.          Canfield,  Joseph,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Privt.          Canfield,  Nathan,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 
Drummer  Canfield,  Jeremiah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg. 

Privt.          Canfield,  Josiah,  2nd  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Lieut.          Castle,  Phineas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Privt.          Carter,  Elezer,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Chittenden,  Isaac,  6th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1759 

"             Chittenden,  Timothy,  6th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

Clark,  Roger,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Colhoon,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Drummer  Cogswell,  Edward,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Privt.          Cogswell,  Asa,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Collengs,  Daniel,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"             Curtis,  Elezer,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Daton,  Amos,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Dayton,  Daniel,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"             Dean,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Deveraux,  Jonathan,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Divine,  Timothy,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Divene,  Nathaniel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Dean,  Uriah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Dinsmore,  Samuel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Douglas,  Dominey,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 
"             Downs,  David* 

"             Drinkwater,  Thomas,  10th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1758 

"             Drinkwater,  William,  10th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  " 

"             Durkee,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

*  In  Orcutt's  "  History  of  New  Milford,"  but  not  in  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society   Rolls. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  47 

RANK.                     NAME,    COMPANY,    AND    REGIMENT.  LEVY. 

Privt.  Downs,  Jonathan,  Col.  Nath.  Whiting's  Reg.     1762 

"  Fairchild,  Jesse,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"  Ferris,  Zachariah,   10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  " 

"  Fisher,  Henry,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Fisher,  Moses,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"  Foot,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Galusha,  Jacob,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Gould,  William,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Green,  David,  llth   Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Gurney,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Guthrie,  Ephraim,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hamblin,  Simon,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hamlin,  Joel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hawley,  Jeptha,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hawley,  Benjamin,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

Corp.  Hawkins,  Zadoc,  llth 'Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Privt.  Harris,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Clerk  Hine,  Abel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Privt.  Hall,  David,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"  Hitchcock,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Hitchcock,  Isaac,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hill,  Silas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  « 

"  Hinman,  Benjamin,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.,  " 

'Kurd,  Lovel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Kurd,  Noah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hurlbutt,  Aaron,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hurlburt,  Elijah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Hurlburt,  Josiah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Johnson,  Moses,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Jones,  Joseph,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"  Lake,  Gresslone,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Latimer,  Thomas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Lynes,  Joseph,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

Manville,  Daniel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Manville,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"  Mun,  Gideon,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 


48  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

RANK.               NAME,  COMPANY,  AND  REGIMENT.  LEVY. 

Privt.          Murray,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             North,  Thomas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Oviatt,  Thomas,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Owen,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Parish,  Jacob,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Peet,  Jaihael,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Pike,  Daniel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Phelps,  James,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Sergt.         Prindle,  Joseph,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Privt.         Read,  David,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Robbards,  Eli,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Capt.          Ruggles,  Benjamin,  12th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1759 

Privt.          Rayment,  Samuel,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Sanford,  Nathan,   llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

Sanford,  (   )ade,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Sawyer,  Jess.,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Squire,  Solomon,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Smith,  Joseph,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"             Stone,  Benjamin,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Chaplain    Taylor,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  2nd  Reg.  1762 

Privt.          Taylor,  Abram.* 

"             Terrell,  Nathan,  2nd  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Terrell,  Ashael,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Terrill,  Ebenezer,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"             Turrill,  Enoch,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Turrill,  Caleb,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Turrill,  Isaac,  7th  Co.,  2nd  Reg.  1759 
"             Turrill,  Stephen.f 

"             Tuttle,  Andrew,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"             Walker,  Gideon,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"             Walker,  Zachariah,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

"            Warner,  Benjamin,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"             Warner,  Martin,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  " 
"             Warner,  Solomon.* 

*  In  Orcutt's  "  History  of  New  Milford,"  but  not  in  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society  Rolls. 
f  Tradition  that  he  was  in  Canada,  but  there  is  no  record. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  49 

RANK.  NAME,    COMPANY,   AND    REGIMENT.  LEVY. 

Privt.         Wallis,  Benjamin,  10th  Co.,  3rd  Reg.  1759 

"  Welton,  John,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

"  Wright,  Solomon,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  1758 

Wood,  Elisha,  llth  Co.,  4th  Reg.  " 

THE    REVOLUTION 

The  following  is  the  roll  of  men  on  the  various  records  as 
having  had  service  in  the  Revolution  who  are  accredited  to  New 
Milf  ord : 

Muster  roll  of  a  company  said  to  have  been  raised  in  New 
Milford  and  to  have  formed  a  part  of  Colonel  Andrew  Ward's 
regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia,  as  given  in  Orcutt's  New 
Milford : 

Lieut.  Ebenezer  Couch,  Lieut.  Elizur  Bostwick,  Ensign_No- 
ble  Hine,  Clerk  Benjamin  Bostwick,  Sergt.  David  Whittlesey, 
Sergt.  Benjamin  Weller,  Sergt.  Mathew  Bronson,  Sergt.  Oliver 
Bostwick,  Corp.  Gideon  Morgan,  Corp.  Uri  Jackson,  Corp. 
Nathaniel  Cole,  Corp.  William  Nichols,  Corp.  Lemuel  Thayer, 
Drummer  Eleazer  Hendrix,  Fifer  David  Ruggles,  Fifer  John 
Couch. 

Privates — Nathan  Averill,  Benjamin  Adams,  Salmon  Bost- 
wick, John  Baldwin,  John  Beach,  Israel  Bostwick,  David  Buell, 
Jared  Baldwin,  David  Bosworth,  Caleb  Barnes,  Mathias  Bee- 
man,  Stiles  Bradley,  Joel  Bostwick,  John  Canfield,  Jesse  Camp, 
Jonathan  Crittenden,  Elija  Gary,  Israel  Camp,  Samuel  Cop- 
ley, Ezra  Dunning,  Jedadiah  Durkee,  Caswell  Dean,  Thomas 
Drinkwater,  Stephen  Evitts,  Asa  Farrand,  William  Foot,  Jon- 
athan Gray,  Epenetus  Gunn,  Elnathan  Gregory,  Liverus  Haw- 
ley,  Ashael  Hotchkis,  Lewis  Hunt,  Richard  Johnson,  John 
Keeler,  Nathan  Keeler,  David  Keeler,  Jonathan  Lumm,  Joseph 
Mygatt,  Lyman  Noble,  Ephram  Minor,  David  Porter,  Samuel 
Prince,  Amos  Prime,  Ruben  Phillips,  William  Peet,  John  Rood, 
Isaac  M.  Ruggles,  Aziah  Robbards,  Nathan  Rowley,  Liffe  San- 
ford,  Asa  Starkweather,  Jonah  Todd,  Ebenezer  Trowbridge, 
John  Turrill,  Stephen  Turrill,  William  Whitley,  Nathan  Wild- 
man,  Cooley  Weller,  Abel  Wilkins. 


50  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Roll  of  Captain  Isaac  Bostwick's  company,  Seventh  Company, 
Sixth  Regiment,  of  Connecticut  Line:  Colonel  Charles  Webb; 
Capt.  Isaac  Bostwick ;  Lieut.  Hulbutt ;  Ensign  Amos  Bostwick ; 
Sergts.  Gideon  Noble,  Simeon  Porter,  Simon  Mills,  Elisha  Bost- 
wick, Sowl.  Barnum;  Corps.  Samuel  Bennett,  Harmon  White, 
Ebenezer  Barnum,  Seth  Hall;  Drummers  Eleazor  Hendrix, 
Calvin  Pease;  Fifers  Nathan  Avery,  Theodore  Baldwin,  David 
Roch;  Privates  Nathan  Avery,  Theodore  Baldwin,  David 
Beach,  Elizur  Bostwick,  Joseph  Bates,  Jonathan  Brown,  Reu- 
ben Bellamy,  Ashel  Case,  John  D.  Cornstalk,  Timothy  Cole. 
Aaron  Curtis,  Hedekiah  Clerk,  Thadeus  Cole,  Charles  Chapen, 
Joseph  Clerk,  Ashael  Dean,  Jeremiah  Douchey,  David  Everist, 
James  Gates,  John  Green,  Hedakiah  Gray,  Daniel  Grinnel, 
Amaziah  Griswold,  Joseph  Hawley,  Levit  How,  William  Hale, 
Abner  Kelsey,  John  Lewis,  Simeon  Lyman,  David  Lyon,  Joseph 
Murray,  Samuel  Millar,  Ruben  Mager,  Josiah  Munger,  Ruben 
Philips,  Rufus  Partridge,  Howard  E.  Prince,  Jeruel  Philips, 
Phineas  Palmer,  John  Smith,  Cordeal  Smith,  Isaac  Smith,  Caleb 
Swetland,  Job  Tousley,  Ruben  Taylor,  Absolem  Taylor,  Gama- 
liel Terrey,  Benjamin  Thomas,  John  Walter,  Thomas  Wood- 
ward, Cornelius  Whitney,  Samuel  Waters. 

Men  who  crossed  the  Delaware  with  Capt.  Isaac  Bostwick 
of  New  Milford,  December  25,  1776,  and  were  in  the  battle 
of  Trenton  and  the  succeeding  battle  of  Princeton,  January 
3,  1777 :  Lieuts.  Hulbutt,  Elisha  Bostwick ;  Sergts.  Brownson, 
Beach ;  Ensign  Amos  Bostwick ;  Corps.  Thayer,  Grover,  Bell ; 
Drummer  Gunn;  Fifer  Humstead;  Privates  Jeptha  Barthol- 
omew, Luther  Bartholomew,  Isaac  Brownson,  Moses  Camp, 
Moses  Canfield,  William  Cressey,  Jonathan  Crittenden,  Heza- 
kiah  Clark,  Jonathan  Davidson,  Francis  Fields,  Aaron  Foot, 
Moses  Hurd,  Robert  Nichols,  George  Norton,  Elisha  Phiney, 
Ruben  Pitcher,  Asa  Prince,  Wills  Sherwood,  John  Turrill. 

Officers  and  men  from  New  Milford  who  served  in  the  Sixth 
Company  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  Continental  Line:  Capt. 
Josiah  Starr;  Sergt.  John  Stevens;  Privates  Oliver  Bostwick, 
Josiah  Buck,  Dar.  Barns,  William  Beal,  Asa  Beal,  Michael 
Beach,  Amos  Beach,  Jas.  Brown,  Josiah  Brooks,  Herman 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  51 

Smith,  Ephram  Alderman,  Domini  Douglass,  Jabes  Frizbee, 
Oring  Ferriss,  Elihu  Grant,  Levi  Hunt,  Christo.  Hington,  Geo. 
Lummis,  Ebcn  Lewis,  Jere  McCarte,  Nathan  Nichols,  Oliver 
Phelps,  Jos.  Phelps,  Lemuel  Peete,  Timoth.  Stanley,  Benajah 
Smith,  Geo.  A.  Smith,  John  Seeley,  Nathl.  Stewart,  Enos  Scott, 
Zimri  Skinner,  Joseph  Thair,  John  Tuff,  Ezekiel  Towner,  Lem 
Walter,  Jos.  Worden,  Amos  Mc'Kinnee,  Robt.  Brown,  William 
Drinkwater,  Jonathan  Mayo. 

New  Milford  men  who  served  in  Lieutenant-Colonel  Josiah 
Starr's  Regiment,  Connecticut  Line :  Lieut.  Col.  Josiah  Starr, 
Comd.  Reg.  and  Co. ;  Lieuts.  Augustine  Thayer,  James  Bennett ; 
Ensign  Josiah  Buck;  Sergt.  Oliver  Bostwick;  Privates  Caleb 
Maxfield,  Leef  Sanford,  Eleazor  Hendricks,  Ebenezer  Bost- 
wick, Solomon  Bostwick,  David  Cole,  Prince  Crosley,  Leverus 
Hawley,  Samuel  Hubble,  Prime  Hubble,  Sep  Hubble,  Titus 
Heart,  Stephen  Headges,  James  Higgins,  William  Handy,  Ira 
Hotchkis,  Benjamin  Heart,  Aaron  Hall,  Ely  Nichols,  Robert 
Nichols,  Samuel  Nettleton,  Holan  Nettleton,  Samuel  Phillips, 
Jurel  Phillips,  Elijah  Parker,  Elab  Parker,  Nehimiah  Piffany. 

New  Milford  men  who  were  in  Lieutenant-Colonel  Samuel  Can- 
field's  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia,  at  West  Point,  in  1781 : 
Lieut-Col.  Samuel  Canfield,  comd. ;  Quartermaster  Jonah  Bald- 
win ;  Surgeon  Dr.  George  Hurd ;  Capt.  Ebenezer  Couch,  Comd. 
Co.;  Privates  Ruben  Brownson,  Elijah  Hoyt,  John  Case,  An- 
drew Merwin,  Stephen  Bennett,  Benjamin  Mead,  Ebenezer 
Couch,  Jr.,  Asa  Read,  Simeon  Taylor,  David  Merwin,  Henry 
Straight,  Ruben  Hurlbut. 

New  Milford  men  who  served  in  Connecticut  Regiment  of 
Pioneers :  Colonel  Judthon  Baldwin ;  Capt.  Daniel  Pendleton, 
Comd.  of  Co.  in  which  the  New  Milford  men  were  engaged ; 
Sergt.  David  Porter;  Privates  Jessie  Cole,  John  Eggleston, 
Isaac  Turrill,  Jonathan  Wilkinson,  Ashael  Turrill,  James 
Bradshaw,  John  Turner,  Lyman  Mott,  Samuel  Oviatt,  Abel 
Wilkenson,  Isaac  Mott,  Samuel  Turner. 

New  Milford  men  who  served  in  Col.  Moses  Hazen's  Regi- 
ment, Connecticut  Militia :  Capt.  Jeremiah  Parmelie's  Co. : 
Michael  Welch,  Jabes  Tomlinson. 


52  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

New  Milford  men  who  served  in  the  Fifth  Troop,  Shelden's 
Dragoons:  Sergt.  Liffe  Sanford,  David  Buell. 

New  Milford  men  who  served  in  Second  Regiment,  Connec- 
ticut Line:  Col.  Herman  Swift;  in  Capt.  Samuel  Cornstalk's 
Co.,  Squire  Davenport;  in  Capt.  Richard's  Co.,  Ezerah  Can- 
field,  David  Cole;  in  Capt.  Belden's  Co.,  David  Johnson,  Moses 
Scott,  Mathew  Stewart. 

A  company  of  forty  volunteers  was  raised  in  the  towns  of 
New  Milford,  Newtown,  and  Danbury,  in  December,  1776.  The 
officers  were:  Capt.  Benjamin  Brownson,  Lieut.  Shadrack 
Hubble,  Ensign  Benjamin  Seeley.  The  names  of  the  privates 
are  not  given  in  the  records. 

In  General  David  Waterbury's  State  Regiment,  Captain 
Charles  Smith's  Company,  were  the  following  New  Milford 
men:  Sergt.  Josiah  Barnes;  Drummer  Eleazer  Hendricks; 
Fifer  Oliver  Mead;  Privates  Nathan  Murray,  Benton  Buck, 
John  Ingersol,  Achillies  Cornstalk,  Amos  Canfield,  Daniel 
Davis,  Jonathan  Beecher,  Isaac  Utter,  Mingo  Treat,  John 
Warner,  Jonathan  Jessup. 

In  Lieutenant  John  Phelps'  Troop  of  Horse  was  Private 
Nathaniel  Canfield  of  New  Milford. 

In  Colonel  Benjamin  Hinman's  Fourth  Regiment,  Conti- 
nental Line,  Sixth  Company,  Capt.  Josiah  Starr,  were  the  fol- 
lowing New  Milford  men :  Sergt.  John  Stevens ;  Privates 
Oliver  Bostwick,  Herman  Smith,  Asa  Brownson,  Josiah  Brooks, 
Ephraim  Alderman,  Josiah  Buck. 

In  Colonel  Herman  Swift's  Second  Regiment,  Continental 
Line,  in  Captain  Kimberly's  Company,  served  from  January 
until  June,  1783,  the  following  New  Milford  men:  Sergeants 
Charles  McDonald,  Ebinezer  Bostwick;  Drummer  Job  Haw- 
kins ;  Privates  Isaac  Lockwood,  Bostwick  Ruggles,  and  John 
McCoy. 

The  following  New  Milford  men  served  under  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Canfield  in  the  Tryon  invasion:  Benjamin  Stone, 
Nathaniel  Barnes,  William  Cogswell,  Ebenezer  Couch,  Noble 
Hine,  Ruben  Bostwick,  Adam  Hurlburt. 

The  members  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati  from  New  Mil- 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  53 

ford   were   Colonel   Josiah   Starr,   Lieutenant   James   Bennett, 
and  Lieutenant  David  Beach. 

THE    WAR    OF    1812 

The  list  of  men  from  New  Milford  who  served  in  the  regular 
army  during  the  War  of  1812,  taken  from  the  rolls  of  the 
Adjutant  General's  office,  is  as  follows: 

Lieutenant  Thomas  Weller;  Privates,  Hedekiah  Baldwin, 
Theopholus  Baldwin,  Joseph  C.  Barnes,  Rufus  Beeman,  Sam- 
uel Bunnel,  Charles  H.  Crampton,  Kneeland  Edwards,  Philo 
Gregory,  Joseph  Hawley,  Stephen  Hawley,  Abram  Hunt, 
Warren  Hyde,  Ithamer  Lane,  Benjamin  Lee,  James  Lee, 
Stephen  Lyon,  Seth  Nelson,  Ebinezer  Reynolds,  John  Saxton, 
Stephen  Seignor,  Caleb  Shelden,  Peleg  Slocum,  Levi  Smith, 
Eliakim  Stow,  Samuel  Summers,  Jonathan  Tharrs,  Benjamin 
Warner,  Harry  Wakelee,  William  S.  Wakelee,  Thomas  W. 
Way,  Squire  Whitney,  Shelden  Wooden. 

The  War  Records  of  Connecticut  do  not  give  the  places 
from  which  the  Militia  and  Volunteers  came,  so  it  is  impossible 
to  tell  exactly  how  many  New  Milford  men  participated  in 
the  war.  The  names  of  Baldwin,  Barnes,  Bartholomew,  Bas- 
sett,  Beech,  Buck,  Buell,  Bostwick,  Booth,  Canfield,  Comstock, 
Noble,  Starr,  Taylor,  Turrill,  and  many  other  New  Milford 
names  are  upon  the  rolls,  but  just  how  many  are  to  be  credited 
to  the  town,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

THE    MEXICAN    WAR 

i 

The  names  of  the  men  from  New  Milford  who  served  in  the 
Mexican  War,  taken  from  the  rolls  of  the  Adjutant  General's 
office,  were: 

Henry  Burrhants,  Sherman  Crosby,  Albert  Morey,  Abner 
M.  Philips,  Ruben  W.  Phillips,  Warren  S.  Tenbrok,  James 
Schemmerhorn. 

Two  other  men  from  the  town  were,  I  believe,  in  that  war: 
Henry  Soul,  son  of  John  Soul,  who  lived  at  the  point  of 
Buck's  Rocks,  and  Charles  Ford,  who  afterwards  served  in 
the  war  of  1861. 


54  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

THE    CIVIL    WAR 

Allen,  Charles  J.,  Mus.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.,  R.  E. 
Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  deserted. 

Allen,  WiUiam,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  8th  Inft.,  deserted. 

Anderson,  Charles  F.,  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Atkins,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  6th  Inft. 

Bailey,  Andrew  E.,  Mus.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Bailey,  Joseph  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Baldwin,  David  A.,  Pvt.  and  Lt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Baldwin,  Francis  E.,  Mus.  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Banker,  Miles  N.,  wagoner,  Co.  E,  12th  Inft. 

Banker,  Philo,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  13th  Inft,  R.  E.  V.  Co.  B,  died 
in  service  May  6,  1865. 

Bartram,  Andrew,  P\t.  Co.  I,  17th  Inft.,  deserted. 

Bartram,  Ashbel  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa. 

Bartram,  Charles  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Bartram,  Charles  M.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  14th  Inft.,  missing  at 
Chancellorsville,  May  3,  1863,  supposed  dead. 

Bartram,  Ferdinand,  Mus.  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Bartram,  Oscar  F.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa. 

Beardsley,  Daniel  S.,  Petty  Off.  U.  S.  Navy. 

Beeman,  Charles  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Beeman,  John  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Beeman,  Rufus,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Benedict,  William  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  17th  Inft.,  died  at  Folly 
Island,  S.  C.,  Nov.  17,  1863. 

Bennett,  George  D.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  2d  h.  Art. 

Bemus,  Charles  F.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  killed  at  Port 
Hudson,  La.,  June  14,  1863. 

Bennoit,  Antone,  Pvt.  Corp.  and  Sergt.  Co.  H,  llth  Inft. 

Birch,  George,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  killed  at  Sharpsburg, 
Md.,  Sept.  17,  1863. 

Bishop,  Orange  P.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  llth  Inft.,  deserted  Apr.  4, 
1863. 

Booth,  Charles  M.,  Mus.  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav.,  Lt.  Co.  D, 
28th  Inft. 

Booth,  Henry,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 


CHARLES  D.  BLINN 
Colonel  of  13th  Conn.  Vols. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  55 

Breen,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  15th  Inft.,  Trans,  to  Co.  K,  7th 
Inft.,  Sub. 

Briggs,  Daniel,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  13th  Inft.,  R.  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  K, 
2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.,  May  4,  1862,  Wd.  Cedar  Creek,  Oct. 
19,  1864. 

Bingham,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  6th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted 
Nov.  9,  1864. 

Bright,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  7th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  March 
23,  1865. 

Breunel,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  May 
29,  1865. 

Bronson,  Andrew  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  deserted  Aug. 
11,  1865. 

Bronson,  Doctor,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Bronson,  Charles  R.,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  3d  Inft. 

Bronson,  Francis  H.,  Pvt.  14th  Reg.  Inft.,  U.  S.  A. 

Bronson,  William  N.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  in  service 
July  28,  1863. 

Brown,  Jackson  J.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Brush,  Joseph,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Buck,  Andrew  N.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  May  11, 
1862. 

Buckingham,  Andrew,  Sergt.  Co.  I,  llth  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa. 
Oct.  24,  1862. 

Buckingham,.  Clark,  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Buckingham,  Earl,  Band  Leader,  2d  Lieut.  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Buckingham,  Irwin  C.,  Corp.  and  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art., 
Wd.  Oct.  19,  1864,  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  Dis.  Disa.  May  23, 
1865. 

Buckingham,  Orlo  H.,  Mus.  and  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Burk,  Joseph,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  10th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  June 
15,  1865. 

Burke,  Nicholas,  Pvt.  Co.  M,  2d  h.  Art.,  deserted  March  25, 
1865. 

Burns,  Edward  C.,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  to 
enemy  March  21,  1865. 

Burr,  Thomas,  Pvt,  Co.  B,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd.,  Dis.  Disa.  May 
28,  1864. 


56  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Cady,  Cyrell,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  llth  Inft.,  Dishon.  Disc.  Dee. 
28,  1863. 

Caldwell,  Smith  P.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  13th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Jan. 
19,  1863. 

Calnen,  Thomas,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art. 

Camp,  Edwin,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Camp,  Edwin  T.,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Feb. 
17,  1863. 

Campbell,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  5th  Inft. 

Canfield,  William  E.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Carman,  George,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  5th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Nov. 
1,  1863. 

Carpenter,  George  E.,  Sergt.  Co.  F,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd.,  Dis. 
Disa.  May  21,  1864. 

Carroll,  Edward,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  5th  Inft.,  deserted  from  14th 
Inft.  March  29,  1863 ;  Sub.,  deserted  Oct.  5,  1864. 

Clark,  Titus,  Corp.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Cleggett,  Louis  A.,  Corp.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd.,  died 
Dec.  25,  1864,  Point  of  Rocks,  Va. 

Cole,  Ferdinand,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  deserted  July 
27,  1865. 

Cole,  Henry  S.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  7th  Inft.,  deserted  Nov.  11, 
1864. 

Cole,  Robert,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Conlon,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  14th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Dec.  12, 
1863. 

Conley,  Daniel,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  May  11, 
1864. 

Copley,  George  D.,  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Corcoran,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  20th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted 
Oct.  5,  1864. 

Conkwright,  Alexander,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  July 
13,  1863,  at  Barancas,  Fla. 

Cummings,  James  P.,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  28th  Inft. 

Disbrow,  David  B.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  R.  E.,  Pvt.  Co. 
H,  2d,  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  Jan.  15,  1863. 

Disbrow,  Henry  S.,  Corp.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  57 

Disbrow,  William  E.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Dix,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  shot  for  desertion 
Jan.  8,  1865. 

Doane,  Edward,  Corp.  Co.  D,  13th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa. 

Dodge,  Robert,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  injured  at  Port 
Hudson,  La.,  July,  1863. 

Driscoll,  Cornelius,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  1st  Reg.  Cav.,  Sub.,  deserted 
July  1,  1865. 

Dubois,  Hiram,  Corp.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art. 

Dunham,  Benjamin  F.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Durand,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  llth  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted 
Aug.  25,  1865. 

Dutcher,  William  P.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Wd.  May  7, 
1864,  Walthall  June.,  Va.,  Dis.  Disa.  July  15,  1865. 

Erwin,  George  S.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Erwin,  Robert,  Reg.  Qm.  Sergt.  and  Co.  Qm.  Sergt.  Co.  H, 
2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  Oct.  19,  1864,  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va. 

Evans,  James  H.,  wagoner  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

Evits,  Oliver  B.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Farrel,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Feb.  18, 
1865. 

Farrell,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  6th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Ferris,  Milliard,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  died  in  New  Milford 
July  27,  1862. 

Ferris,  Jay,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  at  New  Orleans, 
La.,  June  1,  1863. 

Ferris,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

Ferris,  Robert,  Corp.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  killed  at  Sharpsburg, 
Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

Ferris,  Stephen,  1st  Sergt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Finn,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  10th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Fisher,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  14th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Aug. 
14,  1864. 

Ford,  Aaron  N.,  Mus.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  at  Brashier 
City,  La.,  May  22,  1863. 

Ford,  Charles,  Mus.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa. 

Franklin,  Henry  J.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd. 


58  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

French,  Francis  L.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Fuller,  Alfred  E.,  Mus.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Garlick,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Antietam, 
Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

Gaylord,  Charles  H.,  Sergt.  and  1st  Sergt.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

Goodsell,  Jerome,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  deserted  Nov. 
16,  1862. 

Graves,  Franklin  S.,  Corp.  Co.  B,  2d  h.  Art. 

Green,  George  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  28th  Inft. 

Gregg,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  5th  Inft. 

Gregory,  Charles  B.,  Corp.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  at  Baton 
Rouge,  La.,  July  30,  1863. 

Gridley,  Henry  S.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  Oct.  19, 
1864;  Cedar  Creek,  Va. 

Griffin,  Edward,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  killed  June  1,  1864, 
at  Cold  Harbor,  Va. 

Harrington,  George  W.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  Feb. 
25,  1864,  at  Alexandria,  Va. 

Hartwell,  Willis,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  Oct.  28,  1864, 
at  Martinsburgh,  Va. 

Hatch,  Calvin  B.,  Sergt.  and  Lieut.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art.,  killed 
at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Heacock,  Richard,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd. 

Healy,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  10th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Hess,  Christian,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  10th  Inft. 

Higgins,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  5th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Oct. 
1,  1863. 

Hill,  Samuel  R.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Hine,  Frederick  R.,  Pvt.  Co.,  llth  Inft.,  died  Feb.  1,  1864, 
at  Alexandria,  Va. 

Hoag,  David  D.,  Capt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  killed  at  Port 
Hudson,  June  14,  1863. 

Hoag,  George  W.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  6th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Drewry's 
Bluff,  Va.,  May  16,  1864. 

Hodge,  Homer  W.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Hoffman,  Herman,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 


NEW  MLLFORD  IN  THE  WARS  59 

Hoyt,  Charles  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Hoyt,  Denman,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Hoyt,  Henry  R.,  Corp.  and  1st  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h. 
Art. 

Hoyt,  Horatio  S.,  Pvt.  Sergt.  and  1st  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h. 
Art. 

Hunt,  Gideon  L.,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  23d  Inft. 

Hunt,  Merritt,  Mus.  Co.  G,  28th  Inft. 

Hurd,  Charles  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cedar 
Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864. 

Hurd,  Robert  B.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  E,  1st  h.  Art.,  de- 
serted July  28,  1865. 

Hutchinson,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1,  1864,  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864. 

Irwin,  Charles  N.,  Sergt.  and  Lieut.  Cos.  I  and  E,  8th  Inft., 
Wd.  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862,  killed  at  Chapin's  Farm, 
Va.,  Sept.  29,  1864,  he  having  Vol.  to  remain  for  that  battle 
after  Exp.  of  his  term  of  service. 

Jacklin,  Philip  H.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  died  at  Newbern, 
N.  C.,  Sept.  23,  1862. 

Jackson,  Charles  W.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Jackson,  Henry  R,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  C,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd. 

Janks,  August,  Pvt.  Co.  B,  llth  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Sept. 
6,  1865. 

Jennings,  Alvin  H.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Jennings,  David  J.,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art. 

Jennings,  Jay,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Dec.  11, 
1862. 

Jones,  Horace  E.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Judson,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died,  Aug.  10, 
1863. 

Karge,  Earnest,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  llth  Inft.,  Sub. 

Kinney,  Andrew  S.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa. 
Feb.  6,  1863. 

Knowles,  David  W.,  saddler  Co.  C,  1st  Cav. 


60  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Lake,  David,  Corp.  and  Sergt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  killed  at 
Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

Lampson,  Charles  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Lampson,  Frederick  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  R.  E.  Pvt. 
Co.  C,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  Feb.  3,  1863. 

Lampson,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  28th  Inft.,  died  July  21, 
1863,  at  Port  Hudson,  La. 

Lapoint,  Joseph,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  6th  Inft. 

Lathrop,  Herman  S.,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art. 

Lathrop,  Orrin  F.,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  6th  Inft. 

Lathrop,  William  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Law,  Sidney  A.,  Pvt.  and  Corp.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  Jan. 
29,  1865. 

Lawrence,  Thomas,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  8th  Inft.,  Trans,  to  Co. 
A,  10th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Lefever,  Adolph,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  10th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Ft.  Gregg, 
Va.,  Apr.  2,  1865. 

Logan,  Frederick  J.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  Apr. 
12,  1863. 

Logan,  George  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  died  at  Weavers- 
town,  Md.,  Nov.  15,  1862. 

Leverage,  Joseph  R.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  at  Wash- 
ington, Sept.  12,  1864. 

Leverage,  Remus,  Mus.  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Leverage,  Romulus  C.,  Sergt.  and  Lieut.  Cos.  H  and  B, 
2d  h.  Art. 

Loveridge,  Royal  T.,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  1st  h.  Art. 

Lyon,  Edward  F.,  Corp.,  Sergt.,  and  1st  Sergt.  Co.  H.,  2d 
h.  Art. 

Lyon,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  1st  h.  Art.,  Sub.,  deserted  May 
21,  1865. 

Mallett,  Henry  W.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Winches- 
ter, Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 

Malloy,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  L,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  Aug.  22, 
1864. 

Marsh,  Albert  N.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Marsh,  Charles  N.,  Corp.  Co.  D,  1st  Cav.,  Wd.  and  Cap. 


NEW    MlLFOKD    IN    THE    WARS  61 

at  Gordonsville,  Va.,  Aug.  7,  1862,  Cap.  at  Thoroughfare 
Gap,  Oct.  7,  1862,  awarded  Medal  of  Honor. 

Marsh,  Daniel  E.,  1st  Sergt.  and  Lieut.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Marsh,  Decater  D.,  Corp.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  at  Baran- 
cas,  Fla.,  Apr.  12,  1863. 

Marsh,  Edward  W.,  2d  Lieut.  Co.  H,  and  Capt.  Co.  M, 
2d  h.  Art. 

Marsh,  George  W.,  on  Orcutt's  Rolls  as  being  from  New 
Milford,  but  on  the  Conn.  Offl.  Rolls,  as  a  deserter  from  Co. 
A,  7th  Inft.,  and  a  Sub.  from  Southbury,  and  as  an  unassigned 
recruit  to  18th  111.,  who  failed  to  report. 

Marsh,  Irwin  G.,  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Marsh,  Philip  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  5th  U.  S.  Art.,  on  Orcutt's 
Rolls,  not  on  Conn.  Rolls. 

McBath,  David,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

McHenry,  Hugh,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  1st  h.  Art.,  Sub.,  deserted 
July  29,  1865. 

McKeagany,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  1st  h.  Art.,  Sub.,  deserted 
July  10,  1865. 

McLoy,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Jan.  15, 
1865. 

McMahon,  Joseph,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  28th  New  York  Inft.,  Sergt. 
Co.  A.,  2d  M.  R.  of  N.  Y.,  died  in  Serv.  in  N.  M.,  July  17, 
1864. 

McMahon,  Michael,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  Aug.  31,  1864. 

McMahon,  Michael,  3d,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Win- 
chester, Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 

Mehan,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  llth  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted,  con- 
fined, escaped. 

Meney,  Francis,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  13th  Inft.,  Sub.,  Wd.  at  Win- 
chester, Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864,  deserted  Oct.  31,  1864. 

Merwin,  Garwood  R.,  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  Jan. 
25,  1863,  at  Alexandria,  Va. 

Mintsch,  John  L.,  Pvt.,  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.  and  Pvt.  Co.  A, 
2d  h.  Art. 


62  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Monroe,  Edward,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  Jan. 
25,  1864. 

Monroe,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  llth  Inft.,  Sub.,  Dis.  Disa.  Nov. 

11,  1865. 

Moore,  Frank,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  10th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  March 
8,  1865. 

Morehouse,  Frank,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Morehouse,  Lyman  F.,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864,  Dis.  Disa.  June  21,  1865. 

Morehouse,  Henry  S.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Morgan,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  5th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Nov. 
1,  1863. 

Morrison,  William  E.  L.,  Sergt.  and  Pvt.  Co.  I,  29th  Inft. 
Col'd.,  Wd.  at  Kell  House,  Va.,  Oct.  27,  1864,  died  Nov. 

12,  1864. 

Mosher,  James  D.,  Corp.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft.,  died  at  Brasier 
City,  La.,  Aug.  6,  1863. 

Mosher,  Lewis  W.,  Corp.  and  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art., 
Wd.  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864,  Dis.  Disa.  May 
24,  1865. 

Munson,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold  Harbor, 
June  1,  1864,  died  from  wounds,  Aug.  30,  1864. 

Murphy,  Michael,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  5th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Nov. 
1,  1863. 

Nichols,  Ezra  L.,  Pvt.   Co.   K,  29th  Inft.,   Col'd. 

Nichols,  Orlando,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  10th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Noble,_Andrew  B.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Noble,  Henry  C.,  Corp.  and  Sergt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis. 
DisITFeb.  4,  1865. 

Northrope,  Lawrence,  Mus.  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

O'Callaghan,  Timothy  O.,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art.,  killed  at 
Winchester,  Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 

Odell,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

O'Niel,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  10th  Inft.,  killed  at  Fort  Gregg, 
Va.,  Apr.  2,  1865. 

Parkes,  Joseph  P.,  Sergt.  and  1st  Sergt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art., 
killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WASS  68 

Phillips,  Chester,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd.,  kiUed  at 
Petersburg,  Sept.  23,  1864. 

Phillips,  Henry,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  llth  Inft.,  deserted  Dec.  16, 
1861. 

Pike,  Luther  M.,  Corp.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Plumb,  Alonzo,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  died  Aug.  21,  1863. 

Plumb,  Harvey  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Plumb,  Henry,  Surgeon  2d  h.  Art. 

Plumb,  Harvey  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  123d  New  York  Vol. 

Potter,  George  D.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Potter,  George  H.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Purdy,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Fort  Huger, 
Va.,  Apr.  19,  1863,  Dis.  Disa.,  Apr.  4,  1864. 

Randolph,  Harvey  J.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd. 

Read,  Herbert  H.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Pris.  at  Ford's 
Mills,  Va.,  June  14,  1864,  died  in  Anders onville,  Ga.,  July  3, 
1864. 

Rice,  Levi,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  appears  on  Orcutt's  Rolls, 
but  not  on  Government  Rolls. 

Roach,  Thomas,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Dec. 
2,  1864. 

Roberts,  Andrew,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  died  at  Newbern, 
N.  C.,  Apr.  1,  1862. 

Roberts,  Henry  M.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  died  at  Newbern, 
N.  C.,  Apr.  6,  1862. 

Roberts,  William  J.,  1st  Lieut,  and  Capt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft., 
Wd.  at  Fort  Harrison,  Va.,  Sept.  29,  1864,  Dis.  Jan.  31, 
1865. 

Rogers,  Austin  V.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art. 

Root,  Nathan  H.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Ruby,  Eli,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  13th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Sept.  29, 
1862. 

Ruby,  George  M.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  13th  Inft.,  deserted  Aug. 
27,  1864. 

Sanford,  Isaac  L.,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  2d  h.  Art. 

Savage,  Edward  P.,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  8th  Inft.,  deserted  Aug. 
19,  1865. 


64  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Shultz,  Myron,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Feb.  £4, 
1863. 

Sherman,  Lucius  S.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cedar 
Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864. 

Sherwood,  Asahel,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Sherwood,  Reuben  H.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Schook,  Louis,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  July 
24,  1864. 

Shove,  Henry,  Sergt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Smith,  Charles  H.,  Corp.  Co.  K,  llth  Inft.,  Sub. 

Smith,  William,  1st,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  10th  Inft. 

Soule,  David  E.,  Corp.  Co.  H,  Lieut.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art. 

Soule,  Henry,  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav. 

Sparks,  Edwin,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Spengler,  Edward,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  killed  at 
Fort  Harrison,  Va.,  Sept.  29,  1864. 

Stephens,  Edgar,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art. 

Stephens,  Henry  L.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Stephenson,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  5th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted 
July  11,  1865. 

Sterling,  Homer,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.,  Apr. 
18,  1864. 

Stevens,  Franklin  B.,  Pvt.  Co.  B,  2d  h.  Art.,  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Stevens,  George,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  6th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Stevens,  William  H.,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1,  1864,  Dis.  Disa,,  June  6,  1865. 

Stokes,  Henry,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  5th  Inft.,  Dis.  Disa.  Jan.  30, 
1862. 

Tallman,  Martin  N.,  Corp.  Co.  K,  29th  Inft.,  Col'd. 

Tarr,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  E,  llth  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  July 
7,  1865. 

Taylor,  Joseph,  Pvt.,  Corp.,  and  Sergt.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

Thayer,  Edward  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  B,  20th  Inft.,  deserted  Sept. 
29,  1862. 

Thayer,  John  Q.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft. 

Thompson,  Edward  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 


NEW    MlLFORD    IN    THE    WARS  65 

Tibbetts,  Charles  E.,  2d  and  1st  Lieut.  Co.  C,  13th  Inft. 

Treat,  Frederick  M.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Port 
Hudson,  La.,  June  14,  1863. 

Turrill,  Henry  S.,  1st  Lieut,  and  Asst.  Surg.  17th  Inft., 
Cap.  and  held  Pris.  in  Macon,  Savannah,  and  Charleston. 

Van  Anden,  William,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft. 

Vanderwater,  William  G.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  13th  Inft.,  Wd.  at 
Irish  Bend,  La.,  Apr.  14,  1863. 

Van  Lone,  Peter,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  8th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Vorey,  Charles,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  llth  Inft. 

Walden,  Edward,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Winches- 
ter, Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 

Walker,  Albert,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  7th  Inft.,  died  on  Morris  Island, 
S.  C.,  Sept.  18,  1863. 

Warner,  William  C.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  died  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  Dec.  23,  1862. 

Waters,  Alexander,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  3d  Inft. 

Waters,  Frank,  Pvt.  Co.  G,  17th  Inft.,  Sub. 

Way,  Charles  A.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Winches- 
ter, Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864,  at  Salors  Creek,  Va.,  Apr.  6,  1865. 

Welch,  Patrick,  1st,  Pvt.  Co.  F,  8th  Inft.,  Trans,  to  U.  S. 
Navy. 

Weller,  Chester  A.,  Band  4th  Penn.  Cav.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d 
h.  Art. 

Wentworth,  Jacob,  Pvt.  Co.  K,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864,  died  June  20,  1864. 

Wenzenger,  Daniel,  Pvt.  Co.  B,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  killed  at 
Ft.  Harrison,  Va.,  Sept.  29,  1864. 

Wiedmore,  Paul,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.,  deserted  Sept. 
10,  1863. 

Wiley,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  8th  Inft.,  Sub.  deserted  Dec.  1, 
1863. 

Williams,  Burr,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art.,  Dis.  Disa.  March 
27,  1865. 

Williams,  George  S.,  Capt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Williams,  James,  Pvt.  Co.  A,  5th  Inft.,  deserted  Oct.  3, 
1863. 


66  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Williams,  John  F.,  Pvt.  Co.  H,  2d  h.  Art. 

Wilson,  John,  Pvt.  Co.  C,  20th  Lift.,  Sub.,  deserted  Oct. 
5,  1864. 

Wentworth,  Hiram,  Pvt.  1st  Conn.  Lt.  Batt.,  deserted  Jan. 
24,  1862. 

Wooden,  Charles  E.,  Pvt.  Co.  D,  28th  Inft.,  Wd.  at  Port 
Hudson,  La.,  June  14,  1863,  died  of  wounds,  July  17,  1863. 

Woodruff,  Theron  M.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  2d  h.  Art.,  Wd.  at  Cedar 
Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864. 

Worden,  Richard  T.,  Pvt.  Co.  I,  8th  Inft.,  killed  at  Walthall 
June.,  Va.,  May  7,  1864. 

Recapitulation:  Number  of  men  credited  to  New  Milford, 
282 ;  killed  in  battle,  17 ;  wounded  in  action,  34 ;  died  in 
service,  35 ;  discharged  for  disability,  33 ;  deserted,  44 ;  dis- 
honorably discharged,  1 ;  shot  for  desertion,  1.  Casualties, 
honorable,  119;  dishonorable  46;  total  165. 

There  were  thirty-seven  drafted  men  and  substitutes  credited 
to  the  town ;  of  these,  twenty-seven  deserted,  leaving  seventeen 
as  the  number  of  the  town's  volunteers  to  desert  their  colors, 
and  most  of  these  were  of  foriegn  birth. 

THE    SPANISH-AMERICAN    WAR 

Walter  Campbell.  Andrew  Nichols. 

Wesley  Collins.  Cyrus  Northrop. 

Gabriel  Erwin.  Albert  Piper. 

George  Isaac  Hine.  Albert  Timms. 

Charles  A.  Hull.  Walter  Thompson. 

Charles  Kellogg.  Arthur  Wheeler. 
Walter  Wheeler. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    OLD    NEW    MILFORD    HOMES 

CONTRIBUTED   BY   ALICE    MERWIX    BOSTWICK 

INDELIBLY  stamped  on  my  memory  are  pictures  of  the  old 
homes  of  my  ancestors,  and  the  simple  life  within  them,  in 
which  it  was  my  privilege  to  share  in  early  childhood.  These 
houses,  built  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  were  of  the  "  salt 
box  "  style,  two  stories  high  except  at  the  back,  where  the 
roof  sloped  from  the  steep  gables  down  so  low  that  my  grand- 
father, a  tall  man,  had  to  bow  his  head  to  go  under  the  eaves 
into  the  stoop.  This  made  windows  necessary  on  but  three 
sides  of  a  house,  and  was  designed  to  evade  the  heavy  tax  on 
every  pane  of  glass  used.  The  shrewd  colonist  preferred  to 
have  less  light,  rather  than  add  to  the  King's  revenue.  Every 
stick  of  timber  was  oak  from  the  forest  primeval,  felled  and 
hewed  by  the  strong  arms  of  the  men  who,  with  stout  hearts, 
braved  the  perils  and  hardships  of  the  wilderness  for  their 
altars  and  homes.  Every  shingle  was  "  rived  out "  by  hand. 
The  laths,  window  sashes,  doors,  handles  and  latches,  hinges 
and  nails,  were  all  hand-wrought. 

How  well  our  forefathers  builded,  these  old  houses,  still 
standing  in  good  habitable  condition,  after  braving  the  sum- 
mer suns,  winter  winds,  and  storms  of  more  than  a  century  and 
a  half,  bear  witness.  The  great  stone  chimney  was  a  tower 
of  strength  from  its  foundation  in  the  cellar,  fifteen  feet 
square,  up  to  the  garret,  strong  as  granite  rocks  could  make 
it.  It  anchored  the  heavy  beams  and  roof  timbers,  giving 
ample  space  for  the  many  fireplaces  needed  in  the  large  rooms 
growing  around  it.  The  kitchen  fireplace  was  like  those  we 
read  of,  but  seldom  see.  At  one  side  of  the  crane  was  a  bench 
where  I,  as  a  child,  often  sat  watching  the  building  of  the 
fire — a  work  of  skill.  The  big  green  back-log  was  first 
rolled  in ;  then,  the  back-stick,  fore-stick,  chips  and  kindlings 
were  added — a  veritable  woodpile,  which,  when  kindled  by  the 

67 


68  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

aid  of  the  bellows,  sent  sparks  and  flame  crackling  and  roar- 
ing up  the  cavernous  chimney. 

There  may  have  been  much  poetry  in  "  the  hanging  of  the 
crane."  There  surely  was  much  prose  in  cooking  for  a  family, 
in  pots  and  kettles  hung  on  its  hooks  and  trammels,  over  the 
burning  coals  and  smoke.  Long-handled  frying  pans,  spiders, 
skillets,  turnspits,  bake  kettles,  and  Dutch  ovens  would  be 
unknown  quantities  to  graduates  from  modern  cooking  schools ; 
but  they,  with  all  their  science  and  new  appliances,  cannot 
surpass  the  savory  dishes  evolved  by  our  grandmothers  from 
the  limited  means  at  their  command,  with  the  aid  of  these  same 
out-of-date  utensils. 

From  out  the  arch-roofed  old  brick  ovens  came  famous 
loaves  of  rye  and  Indian  bread,  biscuits,  pans  of  pork  and 
beans,  cards  of  gingerbread,  seed  cookies,  election  and  pound 
cakes,  baked  as  none  of  our  ranges  can  ever  bake.  They  had 
a  flavor  all  their  own,  a  color  golden-brown  as  the  fallen 
autumn  leaves  of  the  maple  trees,  whose  "  fair  white  hearts  " 
went  up  in  smoke  out  of  the  doorway,  while  the  long-handled 
iron  peel  spread  the  glowing  coals  over  the  worn  floor  of  the 
old  oven. 

Those  were  not  days  of  ease  and  idleness.  From  sun-up  till 
sun-down,  there  was  work  for  each  and  all,  indoors  and  out. 
"  Hired  help "  was  scarce.  Some  neighbor,  not  so  "  well- 
to-do,"  who  had  more  children  than  income,  spared  a  daughter 
"  to  come  as  one  of  the  family  "  to  work  for  board,  clothes 
and  winter's  schooling  till  of  age.  Then,  she  was  paid  five 
dollars  a  month,  and,  at  her  marriage,  was  given  a  black  silk 
dress  and  a  feather  bed. 

Country  stores  were  few  and  far  between.  Every  family 
made  and  kept  on  hand  their  own  supplies,  loaning  and  bor- 
rowing in  time  of  need ;  exchanging  spare-ribs,  roasts  of  beef 
and  lamb ;  arranging  their  "  butchering "  in  rotation,  to 
accommodate  each  other.  Fresh  meat  was  a  luxury,  salted 
meat,  the  main  reliance.  In  the  smokehouse  hung  hams, 
shoulders,  beef,  tongue  and  sausage.  Under  these  it  was  my 
task  to  pile  green  hickory  chips,  pine  sawdust  and  corncobs, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HOMES          69 

which  made  a  smoke  of  a  peculiar,  pungent,  spicy  quality  and 
odor. 

Tallow  candles,  the  only  light  in  the  long  evenings,  were 
to  be  dipped ;  dozens  and  dozens,  the  whole  year's  supply.  To 
run  out  of  candles  was  "  shiftless."  A  few,  partly  wax,  for 
the  tall  silver  and  brass  candlesticks  on  the  mantels  in  parlor 
and  keeping-room,  were  run  in  moulds  and  hung  to  bleach. 

Soap  was  to  be  made,  hard  and  soft.  An  empty  soap  bar- 
rel was  thriftless.  A  cake  of  scented  soap,  brought  from  a 
distant  city,  was  highly  prized.  Of  spinning  and  weaving  there 
was  no  end.  The  mother  and  daughters,  instead  of  going  to 
clubs  and  lectures,  after  the  housework  was  done  had  their 
stents,  so  many  knots  of  yarn  to  spin.  No  need  to  walk  for 
exercise;  back  and  forth  they  briskly  stepped,  as  the  wheel 
swiftly  whirled,  the  rolls  stretching  into  miles  of  yarn,  "  sin- 
gle twisted  "  for  cloth,  "  double  and  twisted  "  for  stockings 
and  carpet  warp.  Then,  the  yarn  must  be  scoured  and  dyed, 
not  with  "  Diamond  Dyes  "  from  the  drug  store,  but  with 
vegetable  dyes  from  fields  and  woods — white  oak  roots,  butter- 
nut bark,  chestnut  burrs,  sumach  "  bobs,"  onion  skins,  and  the 
wonderful  indigo  "  dye  pot  blue."  Every  good  housewife  was 
past  master  in  the  art  of  dyeing,  and  looked  with  pride  on  the 
line  and  fence  draped  with  skeins  of  yarn  of  bright,  unfading 
hues  and  shades.  Flax  wheels,  not  then  strictly  ornamental, 
hummed  evenings  by  the  fireside,  while  deft  fingers  drew  from 
the  flax-covered  distaff  fine  linen  thread  for  sewing,  and  for 
sheets,  pillow-cases,  towels,  and  all  the  underclothing  of  the 
family.  The  loom  in  the  garret  was  never  without  its  web 
of  cloth  in  process  of  weaving — wool,  linen,  or  wool  and  linen 
mixed  (called  linsey-woolsey).  The  linen  was  spread  on  the 
grass,  bleached  snowy  white,  then  laid  away  in  oaken  chests, 
ready  for  the  wedding  "  setting  out  "  of  the  daughters,  who 
made  it  up  by  hand,  stitching  "  two  threads  over,  two  under," 
the  rule  of  the  good  seamstress. 

From  "  homespun  fulled  cloth  "  the  "  every  day  "  suits  of 
men  and  boys  were  made,  with  the  help  of  the  tailoress  who 
came  spring  and  fall  with  press-board,  goose,  tailor-shears, 


70  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

and  rolls  of  patterns  supposed  to  fit  all  figures.  What  wonder 
if  these  home-made  garments  looked  their  name !  Bedquilts 
were  pieced  in  intricate  patterns — baskets  of  flowers,  butter- 
flies, peonies,  chariot  wheels,  log-cabin,  goose  chase,  double 
and  single  Irish  chain — and  quilted  in  shells,  circles,  squares, 
diamonds,  sawteeth  and  herringbone.  The  quilt  frames  in  the 
"  spare  bed  room  "  usually  had  one  of  these  marvelous  con- 
structions on,  ready  for  a  "  Quilting  Bee,"  after  which  the 
company  gossipped  over  their  cup  of  tea  as  we  over  ours  after 
a  card  party. 

The  shoemaker  came  with  work-bench,  kit  of  tools,  lap-stone 
and  boot-trees  to  make  the  common  boots  and  shoes  for  the 
family  (strictly  common  sense,  no  French  heels).  A  smell  of 
leather  and  "  black  wax  "  pervaded  the  room  where  he  ham- 
mered merrily  away  at  the  heavy  shoe  soles  on  the  lap-stone, 
singing  of  "  Captain  Kidd  as  he  sailed,  as  he  sailed,"  and 
telling  stories  of  haunted  houses.  One  blood-curdling  tale 
of  a  ghost  in  a  cellar,  seizing  the  feet  of  everyone  who  went 
upstairs  after  dark,  still  lingers  in  my  mind — uncomfortably, 
if  the  truth  be  told. 

The  schoolmaster  came,  a  welcome  guest,  "  boarding 
around,"  a  week  for  each  scholar,  and  perhaps  an  extra  week 
for  the  child  of  some  poor  widow  needing  kindly  help. 

There  came  homeless  wanderers  silently  claiming  lodging 
and  food.  Under  the  low  sloping  roof  was  the  "  Old  Shack's 
Room,"  where  a  bed  was  always  kept  in  readiness. 

One  whom  we  knew  only  as  "  Old  Shiver-to-bits  "  had  been 
"  crossed  in  love  "  and  his  mind  unbalanced.  He  never  spoke, 
except  to  himself  as  he  looked  up  to  the  sky,  muttering,  "  The 
air  is  full  of  women,  all  shiver-de-bits."  Another  would  sleep 
only  on  the  floor  by  the  kitchen  fire,  wrapped  in  a  blanket, 
cooking  his  own  food  for  fear  of  being  poisoned.  He  was  an 
astrologer  and  philosopher.  A  woman  came,  who  wore  a  quilted 
hood,  never  taken  off  and  kept  drawn  over  her  face,  which  was 
always  averted  when  she  was  spoken  to.  None  of  these  unfor- 
tunates was  ever  turned  away  from  the  open  doors  of  those 
hospitable  homes. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFORD  HOMES          71 

The  Schaghticoke  Indians,  who  came  from  the  Reservation 
with  squaws  and  hounds  on  their  fishing  expeditions  to  the 
"  Eel  Rocks  "  at  the  Great  Falls,  always  expected  the  privilege 
of  sleeping  in  the  barn.  Their  desire  for  cider  was  greater 
than  their  desire  for  food.  They  willingly  paid  for  both  with 
splint  baskets.  Sometimes  they  became  quarrelsome  and  noisy, 
and  then  the  "  riot  act "  was  read  to  them,  whip  in  hand. 

The  visits  of  the  parson  were  prized  events.  An  atmos- 
phere of  dignity  and  solemnity  seemed  to  emanate  from  his 
black  clothes,  high  stock  and  white  cravat.  A  reverence  now 
unknown  was  felt  for  him,  and  he  was  looked  up  to  as  the 
fountain  head  of  theology  and  religion.  The  doctrines  of 
election,  predestination  and  eternal  punishment  were  talked  of, 
filling  my  childish  mind  with  dire  forebodings  of  literal  fire 
and  brimstone.  After  a  "  season  of  prayer,"  and  dinner  (al- 
ways an  extra  good  one),  he  drove  away,  to  my  great  relief. 

Visits  in  those  days  did  not  mean  calls.  Company  came 
from  miles  away  to  spend  the  day,  often  uninvited,  but  not 
unwelcome.  To  "  drop  in  and  take  pot  luck "  was  not,  as 
to-day,  a  figure  of  speech,  but  literally  true,  for  a  "  boiled 
dish  "  was  the  regulation  dinner.  Corned  beef,  salt  pork,  and 
vegetables  were  served  together  on  a  big  pewter  platter,  with 
a  boiled  bag-pudding  of  Indian  meal.  This  may  not  sound 
as  well  as  Beef  a  la  mode,  entrees  and  desserts ;  but,  when 
well  cooked,  it  was  by  no  means  to  be  despised;  and  on  it  our 
ancestors  lived,  thrived,  and  were  content,  thankful  and  happy. 
Possibly  it  did  give  them  bilious  and  depressed  views  of  the 
hereafter ! 

Sunday  began  Saturday  night,  when  the  sun  went  down 
behind  the  hills.  With  the  lengthening  shadows  came  a  seem- 
ing stillness,  in  advance  of  the  long  day  of  rest  to  follow. 
The  Sunday  breakfast  was  early,  giving  plenty  of  time  for 
the  long  drive  to  "  meeting."  Come  sun,  come  rain,  snow 
or  wind,  nothing  but  sickness  excused  absence  from  the  two 
long  sermons,  morning  and  afternoon,  with  prayer  meeting 
between.  The  day  was  kept  to  the  very  letter  of  the  old 
Sabbatical  law.  Dinner  was  prepared  Saturday,  and  eaten 


72  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

cold.  For  Sunday  reading,  the  leather-bound  Family  Bible 
and  Psalm  Book  were  brought  out ;  also  Baxter's  Saints'  Rest, 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  the  Book  of  Martyrs.  A  walk  be- 
yond the  garden  and  dooryard  was  not  allowed,  till  after 
sundown;  a  drive,  except  in  case  of  necessity,  was  never 
thought  of.  Only  "  York  State  folks  "  did  that.  A  maiden 
aunt  reproved  me  for  cracking  nuts  on  Sunday,  giving  me  to 
read  the  Fourth  Commandment,  and  Isaiah  58:13-14,  "If 
thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath,  from  doing  thy 
pleasure  on  my  holy  day,"  etc.  The  remembrance  of  those 
well-kept,  solemn  Sundays  still  remains ;  and,  to  this  day,  my 
inherited  New  England  conscience  never  fails  to  accuse  any 
transgression  of  the  Fourth  Commandment.  Howells  says, 
"  The  devout  spirit  of  the  old  Puritans  remained  to  their  de- 
scendants long  after  the  stern  creed  that  had  embodied  that 
spirit  had  passed  away." 

Fast  Day,  too,  was  strictly  kept  in  Puritan  households,  with- 
out reference  to  Good  Friday.  We  might  ramble  in  the  woods 
for  wild  flowers,  however,  gather  wmtergreen,  birch  and  sas- 
safras for  root  beer,  and  have  fritters  and  maple  syrup  for 
supper. 

Thanksgiving  was  the  great  feast  day  of  the  whole  year. 
Then,  the  children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  came 
trooping  back,  filling  the  low-ceiled  rooms  under  the  old  roof- 
tree;  and  for  them  high  festival  was  held. 

For  days  before,  great  preparations  were  made.  The  "  but- 
tery "  was  full  of  good  things.  On  the  shelves  were  rows  of 
mince,  pumpkin  and  tart  pies,  the  last  named  made  from  cider 
apple  sauce, — a  lost  art, — and  pans  of  doughnuts  and  crul- 
lers, flanked  by  the  sage  cheese,  ready  to  be  cut.  Baking  in 
the  brick  oven  was  an  immense  chicken  pie,  made  with  cream 
crust, — another  lost  art, — and  an  Indian  pudding  rich  with 
suet — still  another  lost  art. 

The  turkey,  the  choicest  young  gobbler  of  the  flock,  stuffed 
with  savory  dressing,  also  a  pig  with  an  ear  of  corn  in  its 
mouth,  were  roasting  in  a  Dutch  oven  on  the  hearth,  all  these 
together  filling  the  house  with  an  odor  of  good  cheer. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  OLD  NEW  MILFOBD  HOMES          73 

Oscar,  of  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  can  do  mighty  deeds  in  his 
line,  but,  with  all  his  skill,  cannot  equal  one  of  those  real  old- 
fashioned  Thanksgiving  dinners. 

After  all  the  kin  had  come  and  gone,  there  was  abundant 
"  skippin  "  for  the  worthy  poor ;  yes,  and  for  the  unworthy, 
who  might  come  to  partake  of  the  free  bounty  of  the  ever 
charitable. 

The  winters  were  long,  shutting  families  indoors  by  them- 
selves. Books  and  papers  were  few,  but  these  early  settlers 
kept  abreast  of  the  events  of  the  day,  and  they  had  clear-cut, 
strong  opinions,  which  they  expressed  with  no  uncertain  sound. 
In  the  long  evenings  they  gathered  around  the  great  fireplace, 
listening  with  never-failing  interest  to  the  oft-told  tales  of  In- 
dians, of  Tory  raids,  and  of  hardships  and  suffering  in  camp 
and  field. 

"  Shut  in  from  all  the  world  without, 
They  sat,  the  clean-winged  hearth  about, 
Content  to  let  the  north  wind  roar 
In  baffled  rage  at  pane  and  door; 

•  •  •  •  • 

And  for  the  winter  fireside  meet, 
Between  the  andirons'  straddling  feet, 
The  mug  of  cider  simmered  slow, 
The  apples  sputtered  in  a  row, 
And,  close  at  hand,  the  basket  stood 
With  nuts  from  brown  October's  wood." 

If  neighbors  joined  the  circle,  promptly  as  the  tall  clock 
in  the  corner  struck  nine  they  donned  surtouts,  mufflers  and 
striped  knit  mittens,  lighted  the  candle  in  the  pierced  tin  lan- 
tern, and  trudged  away  over  the  hills  to  their  distant  homes. 

The  back-log  had  by  this  time  burned  down  to  glowing 
coals,  and  from  these  the  shining  brass  warming-pan  was  filled, 
to  warm  the  bed  of  the  great-grandmother,  and  the  trundle- 
bed  of  the  small  great-granddaughter ;  the  remaining  coals 
being  carefully  covered  to  kindle  the  morning  fire.  "  Early 
to  bed  and  early  to  rise,"  was  a  lived-up-to  motto.  Each  one 


74  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

of  the  household  climbed  the  steep,  draughty  stairway,  with 
flaring,  flickering  candles,  which  dimly  lighted  the  cold  bed- 
rooms, with  their  frost-covered  windowpanes.  Hastily  un- 
dressing, they  hurried  under  the  blankets,  and,  burrowing  into 
the  deep  feather  beds,  were  soon  lost  in  sound  sleep,  such  sleep 
as  open  air  life,  good  digestion,  and  a  clear  conscience  alone 
can  give. 

This  life  of  the  early  days  may  seem  dull  and  humdrum  to  us 
in  the  rush  and  whirl  of  ours.  If  it  was  sober  by  reason  of 
struggles  with  the  hard  conditions  and  stern  emergencies  con- 
tended with,  it  was  cheerful,  kindly,  dignified,  full  of  high 
ideals,  aims  and  works.  Who  shall  say  our  life  is  better? 

None  of  us  would  willingly  go  back  to  the  "  good  old  times," 
to  their  seeming  narrowness,  inconveniences  and  discomforts ; 
yet  let  us  not  forget  to  give  all  honor  to  these,  our  forbears, 
through  whose  piety,  loyalty,  courage  and  toil  we  have  received 
so  goodly  a  heritage. 


LEVI  SYDNEY  KNAPP 

From   a  photograph  taken  about  1870,  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son, 
Mr.   Frederick   Knapp 


UNCHARTERED  INSTITUTIONS 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  FREDERICK  KNAPP  * 

AMONG  the  unchartered  institutions  of  the  New  England  town, 
none  has  had  a  greater  influence  than  its  general  "  sitting- 
down  "  place,  where,  by  common  consent,  the  leaders  of  all 
classes  gathered.  It  was  to  the  town  what  political  and  social 
clubs  are  to  the  city;  it  was  an  exchange  place,  a  go-as-you- 
please  Lyceum,  a  modern  market-place,  where  the  newspapers 
of  the  day  were  criticised,  where  affairs  of  Church  and  State 
had  to  be  discussed,  where  politics  and  politicians  were  weighed, 
ticketed,  and  shelved  for  future  reference,  and  where  neigh- 
borhood events  were  gone  over  and  approved  or  disapproved. 
War,  domestic  or  foreign,  and  its  generals,  were  subject  to 
this  trial  by  jury.  The  jury  consisted  of  lawyers,  doctors, 
bankers,  merchants,  farmers.  Party-leaders  of  every  shade  of 
opinion — Whigs  (later  Republicans),  Democrats,  Abolitionists 
(brass-mounted,  or  not  mounted  at  all),  Prohibitionists,  Inde- 
pendents— all  irtet  here  on  common  ground.  It  was  an  intel- 
ligent, earnest  crowd,  always  good-natured,  whose  "  give  and 
take  "  was  without  circumlocution  or  apology. 

In  no  town  in  Litchfield  County,  I  fancy,  was  there  quite 
such  a  sitting-down  place  as  the  store  of  Mr.  Levi  S.  Knapp 
on  Bank  Street  in  our  own  town  of  New  Milford,  which  was 
conducted  by  him  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  ninety-three, 
and,  afterward,  by  his  son,  Gerardus  Knapp.  The  place  was 
known  to  everybody  in  the  towns  around.  During  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  troubles  in  the  late  "  Fifties,"  a  witty  neighbor 
christened  it  "  Topeka  Hall  " ;  and  the  name  was  accepted  as 
quite  the  proper  thing.  For  a  half  century,  "  Topeka  Hall  " 
was  an  informal  congress,  where  earnest  men  threshed  out  the 

*  A  native  and  former  resident  of  New  Milford,  who  now  resides  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut 

75 


76 


THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 


problems  of  the  hour.  As  our  late  Governor  Andrews  said  of  it, 
"  It  was  the  place  where  the  world  was  wound  up."  Had  it 
been  honored  by  a  historian,  like  the  late  George  William  Cur- 
tis, and  a  Harper's  Magazine  for  record,  its  quips  and  repar- 
tees might  have  furnished  the  "  Easy  Chair  "  with  abundant 
and  amusing  copy ;  and  its  "  wise  saws  and  modern  instances  " 
would  fairly  have  covered  the  history  of  the  town.  While  its 
good  stories  made  fun  for  the  day,  the  place  became,  none  the 
less,  an  educator  of  public  opinion,  and  wielded  an  influence 
second  to  no  institution  in  the  town. 

The  remarkable  longevity  of  the  men  who  assembled  there 
is  worthy  of  special  record,  covering,  as  it  does,  the  greater 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Below  is  a  list  of  several  of 
the  prominent  men,  and  their  ages  at  death.  It  is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  a  more  complete  list  cannot  now  be  made: 


Col.  William  J.  Starr,  97. 
William  Roberts,  92. 
Royal  I.  Canfield,  76. 
William  N.  Canfield,  86. 
Ralph  E.  Canfield,  85. 
Judge  David  C.  Sanford,  66. 
Sheldon  Blackman,  69. 
Eli  Mygatt,  86. 
A.  B.  Mygatt,  80. 
Augustine  Thayer,  70. 
Rev.  John  Greenwood,  85. 
Rev.  David  Murdoch,  76. 
John  S.  Turrill,  64. 
Benjamin  J.  Stone,  78. 
John  Peck,  81. 
Cornelius  W.  Peck,  78. 
Elijah  Hall,  70. 
William  Hartwell,  87. 
Theodore  Buck,  78. 
Charles  H.  Booth,  81. 
Frederick  G.   Bennett,  74. 


Col.  Gerardus  Roberts,  70. 
Levi  S.  Knapp,  93. 
Gerardus  Knapp,  74. 
Charles  C.  Noble,  72. 
John  Glover  Noble,  77. 
Hiram  B.  Noble^  70. 
Van  Rensselaer  Giddings,  79. 
Merritt  Beach,  79. 
William  Bostwick,  80. 
Ethiel  S.  Green,  84. 
Rev.  J.  B.  Bonar,  79. 
John  P.  Treadwell,  64. 
Isaac  B.  Bristol,  84. 
Anan  Hine,  71. 
Dr.  James  Hine,  80. 
William  H.  Hine,  77. 
Clark  Hine,  84. 
Eli  Clark,  87. 
Charles  Sabin,  74. 
Royal  Buckingham,  81. 
Samuel  Randolph  Hill,  62. 


ALAXSOX   X.   CAXFIELD 
Horn  Oct.  fi,  1807.    The  oldest  resident  of  New  Milford 


UNCHARTERED  INSTITUTIONS  77 

Albert  N.  Baldwin,  80.  Eleazer  T.  Brewer,  81. 

James  H.  McMahon,  68.  Cyrus  Northrop,  95. 

Henry  Merwin,  77.  Robert  Irwin,  88. 

Robert  Ferriss,  87.  Ezra  Ferriss,  90. 

Joel  W.  Northrop,  74. 

And,  living  with  us  to-day,  the  only  survivor  of  the  older 
men,  Mr.  Alanson  Canfield,*  who  will  be  one  hundred  years  old 
on  the  eighth  day  of  October,  1907. 

*  Mr.  Canfield  viewed  the  various  ceremonies  of  the  Bi-Centennial  Cele- 
bration from  the  veranda  of  his  residence  on  the  east  side  of  "  The  Green." 
He  received  scores  of  visitors  there  with  little  apparent  fatigue. — Editor. 


TRAINING  DAYS  IN  THE  FORTIES 
AS  TOLD  BY  AN  "  OLD  BOY  " 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  FREDERIC  KNAPP 

"  I  LIKE  boys,  the  masters  of  the  playground  and  of  the  street 
— boys,  who  have  the  same  liberal  ticket  of  admission  to  all 
shops,  factories,  armories,  town-meetings,  caucuses,  mobs,  tar- 
get-shootings, as  flies  have;  quite  unsuspected,  coming  in  as 
naturally  as  the  janitor — known  to  have  no  money  in  their 
pockets,  and  themselves  not  suspecting  the  value  of  this  pov- 
erty ;  putting  nobody  on  his  guard,  but  seeing  the  inside  of 
the  show — hearing  all  the  asides.  There  are  no  secrets  from 
them,  they  know  everything  that  befalls  in  the  fire  company, 
the  merits  of  every  engine  and  every  man  at  the  brakes,  and 
how  to  work  it,  and  are  swift  to  try  their  hand  at  every  part; 
so,  too,  the  merits  of  every  locomotive  on  the  rails,  and  will 
coax  the  engineer  to  let  them  ride  with  him  and  pull  the  han- 
dles when  it  goes  to  the  engine-house.  They  are  there  only 
for  fun,  and  not  knowing  that  they  are  at  school  in  the  court- 
house, or  the  cattle  show,  quite  as  much  and  more  than  they 
were,  an  hour  ago,  in  the  arithmetic  class." 

Our  Emerson  was  right:  he  knew  boys.  And  at  no  place  or 
time  was  the  boy  let  loose  to  see  and  do,  quite  equal  to  the  train- 
ing days  in  the  "  Forties."  This  was  his  day,  when  school 
didn't  count,  when  the  schoolma'am  or  master  wasn't  in  it,  the 
day  long  anticipated.  When  the  morning  broke  he  was  no  lag- 
gard, but  the  wise  mother  would  not  allow  him  to  skip  or  hurry 
his  breakfast,  for  she  knew  that  when  the  day  was  done  her 
laddie  would  be  too  fagged  to  eat.  So,  breakfast  over,  she  ties 
the  ribbon  in  his  broad  turn-down  collar,  and  the  father  gives 
him  two  fippenny  bits  for  all  his  own  to  spend  as  he  pleases,  and 
then  they  launch  him  forth  with  a  "  good  time  "  for  a  blessing. 

At  the  hill's  foot  he  meets  his  comrades,  and,  further  down, 

78 


TRAINING  DAYS  IN  THE    FORTIES  79 

more  Johns  and  Jims  and  Sams  and  Bills,  and  then  the  fun 
begins.  On  the  village  Green  things  begin  to  take  on  a  warlike 
aspect  and  the  boys  catch  on  to  every  movement  and  miss  noth- 
ing; while  the  girls — pshaw!  they  ain't  in  it  to-day — keep  in 
yards  or  on  church  steps.  The  darkey  boys,  as  happy  as  any, 
begin  to  bring  on  the  warlike  steeds,  which  are  praised  or  jeered 
as  appearances  demand.  Presently  there  is  a  drum-beat  on  the 
big  bass  drum,  and  every  boy  scampers  for  the  band,  which  con- 
sists of  a  fifer,  a  snare-drummer,  and  Charles  Ford  to  beat  the 
big  bass  drum.  And  he  just  could  beat  it  like  Sam  Hill!  I  tell 
you,  if  the  Britishers  could  have  heard  those  fellows  play,  they 
would  have  got  right  off  from  Bunker  Hill,  you  bet !  Sure !  they 
all  admit.  Now,  at  the  upper  part  of  "  The  Green,"  a  soldier  in 
uniform  appears,  and  soon  another.  It's  nine  o'clock,  and  the 
first  parade  begins  at  ten.  Soon  they  come  in,  in  squads,  until 
"  The  Green  "  seems  to  be  covered  with  the  mounts,  after  which 
the  soldiers  dismount  and  take  things  easy.  Our  boys  are  in 
and  out  amongst  the  horses,  scooting,  howling,  criticising,  or 
jeering,  when  an  officer  rides  up  and  gives  an  order.  This 
means  business,  and  the  small  boy  "  gits,"  nor  does  he  "  stand 
upon  the  order  of  his  going,  but  goes  at  once,"  and  the  soldiers 
hold  the  field.  This  is  only  preliminary  work,  however,  a  shak- 
ing down  of  the  files  preparatory  to  the  reception  of  the  Col- 
onel and  his  staff  in  the  afternoon.  This  over,  the  troops  are 
off  duty. 

The  soldiers  take  their  ease  as  they  please,  some  on  "  The 
Green,"  but  more  over  at  the  tavern,  where  the  boys  flock  in 
amongst  them,  until  the  "  barkeep "  shouts  to  them,  "  Get 
out ;  there's  too  many  of  you !  "  It's  lunch  time,  too,  for  the 
boys,  who  begin  to  mass  around  Aunty  Thatcher's  gingerbread 
stand  feeling  about  their  jackets  for  the  small  coin.  Whether 
they  have  any  or  not — it's  all  the  same.  The  boys  are  demo- 
cratic and  divide,  paying  just  like  grown-ups  for  what  they 
buy  with  the  coin  of  the  realm.  No  line  drawn  to-day  between 
the  boy  with  money  and  the  boy  without,  nor  is  the  color  line 
apparent.  This  cuts  no  ice  with  our  boys.  Here's  Dandy 
Lazarus,  Fred  Wilson  (afterward  sold  into  slavery),  Joe  Bas- 


80  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

sett,  and  Phil  Jacklin.  Black  or  white,  the  boys  never  think, 
or  care ;  so  long  as  the  fippenny  bits  last,  no  boy  goes  hungry. 

Then  they  stroll  over  and  wash  the  gingerbread  down  with 
some  of  Jennings'  ginger  pop,  happy  as  lords.  Simple  pleas- 
ures these;  but,  as  Josh  Billings  says,  the  boys  then  got  more 
fun  out  of  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  than  do  boys  now  out  of  a  five- 
dollar  bill.  The  bugle  sounds,  and  every  boy  is  off,  for  now 
the  Colonel  takes  command.  This  is  the  "  crowner  "  of  the  day 
which  no  boy  will  miss.  The  troop  is  again  in  line,  with  sabres 
drawn  to  receive  its  Colonel.  A  shout  from  the  boys,  and  down 
the  line  comes  Colonel  Starr  with  his  staff.  Hurrah!  ain't  it 
great!  It's  Napoleon,  or  Old  Put,  or  Ethan  Allen,  or  Lafay- 
ette over  again!  The  Colonel  is  received  and  takes  command. 
The  small  boy  holds  his  breath,  for  now  you'll  see  how  it's  done 
in  battle.  The  Colonel  gives  his  orders;  by  fours,  by  eights, 
they  wheel,  they  turn,  they  go  en  masse — it's  wonderful  how 
they  do  it !  Golly  gracious !  At  last  they  return  to  place, 
salute  their  Colonel,  clang  their  sabres  back  into  the  scabbards, 
and  are  dismissed,  and  Training  Day  is  over.  Our  lads  return 
to  their  homes  to  relate  to  the  fathers  and  mothers  the  excite- 
ments and  perils  of  the  day. 

Well,  my  lads  of  the  Forties,  you  had  your  fun ;  but,  with- 
out knowing  it,  you  learned  much  more  than  the  pleasures  of 
the  day.  You  learned  patriotism,  you  learned  what  it  was  to 
subject  yourselves  to  obedience  for  the  common  good;  what 
team  work  was,  to  work  together,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  for  the 
achievement  of  a  common  purpose.  You  learned  self-control 
and  discipline,  which  stood  you  in  good  stead  later,  on  the  real 
battlefield,  and  for  which  we,  the  living,  honor  you  as  you  sleep 
in  God's  acre,  on  each  Memorial  Day.  And  you  also  learned, 
without  knowing  it,  what  we  older  boys  are  slow  to  learn,  that 
no  man  liveth  to  himself  or  dieth  to  himself,  but  that  self- 
sacrifice,  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,  is  the  cor- 
nerstone of  republics,  the  goal  toward  which  the  whole  world 
is  moving. 

Lads  of  the  "  Forties,"  I  sing  the  "  Sabre  Song  "  to  your 
honor,  and  may  "  Qui  transttdit  sustmet  "  be  your  sheet  anchor 
and  your  motto ! 


REMARKABLE  LONGEVITY   OF   NEW  MILFORD 
CITIZENS 


A  PARTIAL  LIST  COMPILED  FROM  THE  RECORDS  BY  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS 


Samuel  Wheeler  Smith,  83. 

Eli  Mygatt,  Jr.,  80. 

Zephaniah  Briggs,  101. 

Nathan  Gay  lord,  81. 

David  Sterling,  81. 

John  Gaylord,  90. 

Gideon  Camp,  79. 

Stephen  Ferriss,  1st,  102. 

Stephen  Ferriss,  2d,  88. 

Dea.  Russell  R.  Pratt,  78. 

Lewis  Allen,   80. 

Dr.  George  Taylor,  78. 

Samuel  Buel,  83. 

Joseph  Ferriss,  98. 

Benjamin  E.   Bostwick,  83. 

Henry  Hoyt,  88. 

Lyman  Hine,  89. 

Orrin  B.  Marsh,  94. 

John  B.  Peck,  77. 

Henry  Camp,  78. 

Wm.  Albert  Knapp,  86. 

Jair  Morehouse,  87. 

Eli  Gaylord,  76. 

Jabez  Morehouse,  79. 

Amelia  Gunn,  82. 

Gracia  Minerva  Merwin,  78. 

Sarah  B.  Allen,  80. 

Henrietta  Hine,  88. 

Marcia  L.  Baldwin,  79. 


David  D.  Northrop,  79. 
James  A.  Giddings,  87. 
Daniel  Gaylord,  83. 
Peter  Gaylord,  95. 
Peter  Waller,  84. 
David  Marsh,  82. 
William  A.  Lewis,  77. 
Adolphus  Hallock,  80. 
Benjamin   Buckingham,  84. 
Seymour  Buck,  81. 
George  A.  Ferriss,  78. 
George  W.   Mallory,   80. 
Isaac  Hine,  82. 
Harvey   Jennings,   78. 
Daniel  Marsh,   82. 
William  H.  Fairchild,  81. 
Northrop  Dunning,  94. 
Irwin  B.  Gaylord,  93. 
Charles  Lake,  83. 
Benjamin  Treat,  78. 
Darius   Williams,   88. 
William  Couch,  78. 
Albert  S.  Hill,  85. 
William  Cummings,  78. 
Eliza  Leavitt,  86. 
Hetty  Mygatt,  82. 
Janett  Force,  82. 
Polly  Canfield,  88. 
Thalia  M.   Nickerson,  80. 


81 


82 


THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 


Chloe  Nichols  Turrill,  83. 
Betsey  Evitts,  88. 
Betsey  Sterling,  90. 
Ann  Brownson,  85. 
Martha  Bennett,  81. 
Mary  Ann  Boardman,  80. 
Eliza  S.  Knapp,  87. 
Mabel  Baldwin,  87. 
Lucia    Tomlinson,   93. 
Eliza  Roberts,  84. 
Betsey  Sterling,  90. 
Martha  Gaylord,  88. 
Lucy  F.  Lathrop,  79. 
Marinda  Ruby,  81. 
Jerusha  Sanford,  97. 
Catharine  Lewis,  82. 
Lamira  D.  Clark,  88. 
Mercy  Canfield,  94. 
Emily  Weaver,  81. 
Loretta  Geer,  85. 
Helen  C.  Marsh,  80. 
Charlotte  Evans,  87. 
Harriet  Smith,  80. 
Armida  Giddings,  96. 
Cornelia  A.  Morehouse,  82. 
Salome  Williams,  88. 
Anna  Walker,  91. 
Martha  E.  Dewey,  81. 
Susan  Buckingham,  78. 
Harriet  Hoyt  Addis,   86. 
Elizabeth  M.  Northrop,  76. 
Adeline  Buckingham,  76. 
Elizabeth  S.  Hine,  85. 
A.  Maria  Garlic,  84. 
Julia  A.  Garlic,  80. 
Lucy  L.  Crofut,  78. 
Helen  M.  Giddings,  75. 


Polly  Bull,  94. 
Anna  Sheldon,  86. 
Urania  Marsh,  82. 
Elizabeth  Morehouse,  92. 
Martha  Mygatt,  87. 
Laura  M.  Hallock,  87. 
Jerusha  Roberts,  91. 
Martha  D.  Mygatt,  90. 
Marietta  Bryan,  89. 
Elizabeth  Monihan,  92. 
Elizabeth  C.  Miner,  78. 
Phoebe  R.  Stillson,  89. 
Electa  Thayer,  92. 
Sara  A.  Sabin,  88. 
Rebecca  Buck,  97. 
Emily   Bostwick,   97. 
Eliza  Bristol,  99. 
Polly  M.  Bishop,  90. 
Lois  C.  Fairchild,  80. 
Abigail  D.  Sturges,  90. 
Jane  Jennings,  82. 
Mary  A.  Haviland,  85. 
Emeline  C.  Morrison,  85. 
Phoebe  Briggs,  101. 
Sarah  Ann  Canfield,  80. 
Elizabeth  Briggs,  85. 
Betsey  Baldwin,  75. 
Fannie  C.  Warner,  78. 
Mary  M.  Hine,  83. 
Lucy  Morgan,  79. 
Mary  A.  Treat,  82. 
Mary  C.  Wooster,  76. 
Julia  Brewer,  84. 
Henrietta   Noble,   85. 
Hannah  Lake,  79. 
Esther  H.  Wheeler,  83. 
Laura  M.  Baldwin,  79. 


REMARKABLE  LONGEVITY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  CITIZENS 


Maria  Green,  84. 
Nancy   Newton,   83. 
Eveline  G.  Marsh,  83. 
Maria  Marsh,  78. 
Irene  Hoyt,  82. 
Betsey  Platt,  77. 
Minerva  Franklin,  81. 
Elsie  Hoyt,  81. 
Lucia  H.  Noble,  78. 
Rebecca  A.  Phelps,  84. 
Elsie  O.   Nickerson,  79. 
Sally 


Abigail  Camp,  81. 
Susan  Merwin,  79. 
Sophia  McMahon,  89. 
Mary  Stephens  Brewer,  81. 
Mary  Olcott,  82. 
Sarah  Kellogg,  77. 
Laura  L.  Camp,  76. 
Maria  Gaylord,   83. 
Caroline  Erwin,  88. 
Electa  Morehouse,  84. 
Eliza  Roberts  Knapp,    77. 
Northrop,  101. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD   IN  LATER  YEARS 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS  * 

THE  town  of  New  Milford  originally  was  of  much  larger  ex- 
tent than  it  is  at  present.  It  contributed  New  Preston  Society, 
on  the  northeast,  to  the  town  of  Washington ;  Newbury  So- 
ciety, on  the  south,  to  the  town  of  Brookfield ;  and  "  The  Neck  " 
(Bridgewater  Society),  in  1856,  to  form  the  town  of  Bridge- 
water.  Notwithstanding  this  depletion,  it  is  still  one  of  the 
largest  towns,  territorially,  in  the  State. 

It  is  well  watered  and  fertilized  by  the  Housatonic  River 
through  the  whole  length  of  the  town ;  by  the  Aspetuck  River, 
East  and  West  branches,  from  the  north;  by  Still  River  and 
Rocky  River  from  the  south  and  west ;  and  by  other  streams. 

The  hills  and  vales  of  its  rolling  landscape  present  to  the  eye 
a  spectacle  which  equals,  in  some  respects,  the  much-lauded 
scenery  of  the  Old  World. 

The  growth  of  the  town  has  been  slow  but  steady.  Agri- 
culture is  the  chief  industry.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  and  its 
adaptability  to  grazing  purposes  make  the  production  of  milk 
and  butter  profitable.  There  is  a  large  creamery  near  the  rail- 
road in  the  south  part  of  the  village,  where  farmers  of  the 
surrounding  country  bring  their  milk,  which  is  sent  to  the  large 
cities.  There  is  also  a  creamery  at  Gaylordsville,  and  there  are 
two  private  establishments  in  the  village  to  supply  the  local 
wants  of  the  people. 

Raising  tobacco  and  preparing  it  for  market  are  among  ;he 
principal  occupations  of  the  inhabitants,  the  Housatonic  Val- 
ley being  celebrated  for  the  fine  quality  and  abundant  growth 
of  this  plant. 

*  The  writer  of  this  article  has  endeavored  to  be  accurate  in  his  state- 
ments. He  has  sought  information  from  various  sources;  from  the  town 
records,  from  files  of  newspapers  of  the  town,  from  personal  recollections, 
and  from  the  "  History  of  New  Milford,"  by  Rev.  Samuel  Orcutt,  1882. 

84 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          85 

Vincent  B.  Sterling,  who  has  been  engaged  with  one  of  the 
large  tobacco  firms  for  many  years,  and  is  familiar  with  the 
tobacco  business,  has  contributed  the  following  regarding  it: 

"  Like  most  great  enterprises,  the  raising  of  tobacco  in  New 
Milford  started  from  small  beginnings.  About  the  year  1848, 
the  first  tobacco  in  New  Milford  was  raised  by  George  Mc- 
Mahon,  who  was  soon  followed  by  Seeley  Richmond  and  Elijah 
Hall.  These  three  men  were  without  doubt  the  pioneers  of  the 
tobacco-raising  in  the  Housatonic  Valley. 

"  From  that  time  it  has  been  cultivated  with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess, until,  to-day,  it  is  the  leading  crop  of  the  farmers  of  this 
and  surrounding  towns.  The  amount  grown  at  present  is  about 
one  thousand  three  hundred  acres  annually.  The  variety  was 
Broad  Leaf,  up  to  1883;  since  then,  it  has  been  almost 
exclusively  Havana  Seed. 

"  Probably  the  amount  invested  in  tobacco  in  the  early  fifties 
did  not  exceed  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  while,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  at  least  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  is  used  annually 
buying  and  packing  it.  No  crop  grown  by  the  farmer  requires 
such  constant  attention.  From  the  sowing  in  April,  through 
the  transplantation  in  June,  until  the  matured  plant  is  har- 
vested and  placed  in  the  curing  sheds  in  August  and  Septem- 
ber the  greatest  care  must  be  exercised.  *  Eternal  vigilance  ' 
is  the  price  of  success,  and  a  sharp  hailstorm  of  a  few  minutes' 
duration  may  destroy  the  results  of  the  summer's  labor.  Dur- 
ing the  early  fall  the  plants  are  taken  from  the  poles,  the  leaves 
are  stripped  from  the  stalks  and  packed  in  bundles,  and  the 
tobacco  is  then  ready  for  the  buyer. 

"  It  is  probable  that  tobacco  was  first  assorted  and  packed 
in  New  Milford  in  1848  by  George  McMahon,  who  was  fol- 
lowed, a  few  years  later,  by  Perry  Hall.  These  men  were  the 
first  packers  in  the  Housatonic  Valley.  Space  will  not  permit 
mention  of  the  parties  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  business 
since  that  time.  At  present,  it  is  one  of  the  leading  industries 
of  the  town.  There  are  twelve  tobacco  warehouses,  employing 
through  the  packing  season  in  the  neighborhood  of  four  hun- 
dred men. 


86  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

"  Most  of  the  capital  needed  to  pack  the  tobacco  is  fur- 
nished by  the  large  tobacco  jobbing  firms  of  New  York  and 
Chicago,  who  employ  local  men  as  buyers  and  packers. 

'  The  crop  as  a  whole  is  an  important  source  of  wealth  to 
the  farmers,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  many  thrifty  and  beautiful 
homes  of  the  successful  tobacco  growers  scattered  over  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  New  Milford." 

There  are  some  notable  manufacturing  industries  in  this 
town. 

The  manufacture  of  wool  hats  here  dates  back  nearly  a  cen- 
tury. Glover  Sanford  began  making  them  in  1823,  on  a  small 
scale,  in  Bridgewater  Society.  The  business  steadily  increased 
and  was  carried  on  by  himself  and  brothers  till  1870,  when  the 
firm  removed  to  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Smith  &  Erwin  opened  a  hat  factory  in  Bridgewater  in  1834, 
and  removed  to  this  village  in  1855,  occupying  the  long  build- 
ing now  used  as  a  store  by  the  firm  of  Ackley,  Hatch  &  Marsh. 

Isaac  Reynolds  began  hat  manufacturing  in  Bridgewater  in 
1847,  afterwards  removing  to  Lanesville.  Joseph  Sanford, 
Lyman  B.  Stone,  and  Francis  Callahan  engaged  in  the  business 
at  different  times.  A  company  was  organized  there  in  1853 
under  the  name  of  the  Union  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  modern  hatting  industry  was  established  in  this  village 
in  1885.  Some  of  the  leading  citizens  donated  to  the  firm  of 
Bates  &  Green  a  piece  of  land  on  West  Street  Extension,  where 
a  building  was  erected,  and  the  making  of  hats  of  fur  was  car- 
ried on  in  a  moderate  way  until  1898,  when  a  fire  destroyed  the 
plant.  It  was  not  rebuilt,  but  the  business  was  reorganized  as 
the  New  Milford  Hat  Company,  which  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  a  short  distance  north  of  the  village,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Aspetuck  River,  and  erected  there  a  large  plant  with  mod- 
ern improvements.  The  officers  of  the  company  are:  Andrew 
G.  Barnes,  president;  Seymour  S.  Green,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, and  William  G.  Green,  superintendent.  Under  their  able 
management  the  enterprise  has  been  very  successful.  In  1906 
the  amount  of  business  done  was  five  hundred  thousand  dollars ; 
the  pay-roll  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty  employees. 


HONORABLE    ISAAC    BALDWIN    BRISTOL 

President  of  First  National  Bank,  1902-1905,  and  of  New  Milford 

Savings  Bank  at  time  of  his  death 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MIL-FORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          87 

Merritt  W.  Hill  and  E.  W.  Hanke  formed  a  partnership  and 
began  making  hats,  about  1890,  in  the  Randolph  Hill  mill 
building  on  Mill  Street.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  years  they 
removed  to  the  upper  part  of  Maltby  Leach's  flour  and  feed 
store  on  Railroad  Street,  where  they  were  incorporated  as  a 
stock  company  in  1894.  This  company  was  dissolved  in  a  few 
years.  Mr.  Hill  now  has  a  jewelry  store  on  Bank  Street.  Mr. 
Hanke  went  to  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  and  is  doing  a  flourishing 
hat  business  there. 

The  manufacturing  of  buttons  from  vegetable  ivory  was 
begun  here  in  1866  by  Henry  S.  and  Walter  B.  Bostwick,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Bostwick  Brothers.  The  ivory  nuts  were  at 
that  time  brought  to  this  country  as  ballast  to  ships  and  sold  at 
a  small  price,  so  that  the  making  of  buttons  from  them  was 
quite  profitable.  Bostwick  Brothers  erected  a  building  on  Rail- 
road ^Street  and  carried  on  the  business  with  great  success  till 
1884,  when  the  plant  was  damaged  by  fire.  Soon  after  the 
firm  dissolved.  Walter  B.  Bostwick  went  to  Bridgeport,  Conn., 
where  he  engaged  in  business,  became  prominent  and  was  elected 
mayor. 

Buttons  were  made  at  the  old  hat  shop,  corner  of  Bridge 
and  Railroad  streets,  for  several  years  by  Isaac  B.  Bristol, 
Robert  H.  Isbell,  William  Schoverling,  Rufus  Leavitt,  and  per- 
haps others.  About  1878  the  Noble  Brothers  purchased  the 
business  and  carried  it  on  for  a  few  years.  After  that,  various 
mechanical  inventions  were  developed  there.  A  few  years  ago, 
the  building  passed  to  the  firm  of  Ackley,  Hatch  &  Marsh,  and 
is  now  used  for  a  general  store. 

A  button  shop  was  erected  in  1884  on  West  Street  Extension, 
in  which  buttons  were  manufactured  by  William  Schoverling, 
George  W.  Anthony,  and  David  E.  Soule  till  1889,  when  it  was 
burned  to  the  ground.  This  put  an  end  substantially  to  button 
making  in  the  town,  the  cost  of  raw  material  having  increased 
so  much  that  it  became  unprofitable. 

Making  lounges  was  begun  in  a  small  way  many  years  ago 
by  De  Watt  Pepper.  From  this  slight  beginning,  the  business 
increased  until  it  became  necessary  to  establish  a  large  plant  to 
meet  the  growing  demands  of  the  trade.  The  Eastern  Lounge 


88  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT  , 

Company  was  first  housed  in  William  Schoverling's  brick  build- 
ing on  Railroad  Street,  occupying,  in  addition  to  that,  the  old 
hat  building  on  the  corner  of  Bridge  Street.  In  1895  the 
business  was  removed  to  the  commodious  plant  built  by  William 
Schoverling,  on  the  site  of  the  West  Street  Extension  button 
factory,  where  it  has  been  large  and  flourishing.  The  company 
is  composed  of  De  Watt  Pepper,  president,  Mrs.  William 
Schoverling,  vice-president,  and  William  P.  Landon,  secretary 
and  treasurer. 

Roswell  and  Sheldon  Northrop  began  in  1832  the  manufac- 
ture of  machinery  in  a  building,  in  Maryland  District,  near 
where  the  trout  pond  of  Turney  Soule  now  is,  using  the  water- 
power  to  carry  on  their  business.  In  a  few  years  they  removed 
to  the  brook  south,  and  erected  a  foundry  and  machine  shop, 
enlarging  the  business  and  admitting  a  younger  brother,  David, 
to  the  firm.  They  made  castings  to  order,  cast-iron  fences, 
and  various  kinds  of  machinery.  Changes  in  the  firm  occurred 
from  time  to  time,  but  it  always  continued  in  the  Northrop 
family.  In  1887  Jasper  A.  Northrop  removed  the  business  to 
this  village  on  West  Street  Extension,  erecting  a  foundry  and 
machine  shop.  He  invented  and  began  making  a  heater  for 
warming  houses,  which  he  named  the  "  Unique."  This  heater 
is  made  for  both  water  and  steam,  and  is  sold  extensively  in  this 
region. 

Paper  making  from  straw  and  rags  has  been  carried  on  in 
this  town  for  many  years.  Albert  S.  Hill  and  Edward  Barton 
erected  a  paper  mill  in  1852,  about  a  mile  above  Northville,  on 
East  Aspetuck  River,  where  they  made  straw-board  paper  for 
hat  and  dry  goods  boxes.  This  business  was  continued  until 
within  a  short  time.  The  site  had  been  used  for  a  saw-mill  more 
than  seventy  years  before  the  paper  mill  was  erected. 

Just  below  this  mill,  on  the  river,  was  a  grist  mill,  which  was 
purchased  in  1862  by  William  W.  Wells  and  his  brother  Edwin 
S.  They  ground  flour  and  feed  there  many  years,  and  also  con- 
structed a  saw-mill.  This  property  has  been  used  as  a  mill  site 
for  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years. 

Justus  Miles  came  from  Milford  in  1742  and  purchased  the 
farm  in  Park  Lane  where  the  old  house  known  as  "  Miles' 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          89 

Tavern  "  still  stands,  and  where,  from  an  ancient  sycamore, 
still  hangs  the  old  iron  crane  which  bore  the  tavern  sign  a  hun- 
dred years  or  more  ago.  He  built  the  works  known  as  the 
"  Miles'  Grist  Mill "  in  1748  "by  the  north  end  of  Henry  Gar- 
lick's  home  lot "  on  East  Aspetuck  River.  Manufacturing  of 
some  kind  has  been  carried  on  there  ever  since,  paper  having 
been  made  there  for  the  last  fifty  years.  A  company  organized 
as  the  "  New  Milford  Paper  Company  "  recently  purchased  the 
property,  and  is  preparing  to  do  a  large  business  in  making 
cardboard  and  paper. 

The  Merryall  Plough  Foundry  was  established  soon  after 
1800  by  Elijah  Hall.  He  made  castings  for  ploughs  and  in- 
vented the  "  Hall  Plough,"  which  was  very  popular  among 
farmers  for  many  years.  Mr.  Hall  was  the  first  man  in  the 
State  to  use  bituminous  coal  for  forge  work. 

In  1768  Angus  Nicholson  purchased  land  on  West  Aspetuck 
River,  and,  some  time  after,  built  what  was  known  for  a  long 
time  as  Nicholson's  Iron  Works.  He  erected  a  square  marble 
stone,  which  is  now  standing,  on  the  corner  of  the  road  a  short 
distance  above  Wellsville,  with  the  following  inscription :  "  To 
Wm.  Nicholson's  Ironworks,  2  miles  from  New  Milford,  85 
miles  from  N.  York,  1788."  On  the  east  side  of  the  stone,  the 
words,  "  To  Kent,"  are  inscribed,  with  an  index  hand  pointing 
northward. 

The  manufacture  of  wool  and  linen  into  cloth  was  begun  in 
the  town  at  an  early  date.  Mills  for  that  purpose  were  erected 
on  various  water  courses.  Such  a  business  was  carried  on  near 
the  mouth  of  Rocky  River. 

About  1820  William  Roberts  erected  cloth  works  at  Gaylords- 
ville.  A  dam  across  the  river  was  constructed  in  the  early  part 
of  last  century,  and  a  saw-mill  put  into  operation  on  the  west 
side  by  Homer  Gaylord,  and  on  the  east  side  a  grist-mill,  by 
Peter  Gaylord. 

George  Wells  and  brother  established  cloth  works  at  Wells- 
ville, where  they  manufactured  cloths  quite  extensively  from 
wool  and  from  wool  mixed  with  cotton.  The  plant  burned  down 
eventually,  and  was  not  rebuilt.  The  property  subsequently 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Chauncey  B.  Marsh,  who  erected  a 


90  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

saw-mill  and  machine  shop,  which  he  carries  on  at  the  present 
time.  Mr.  Marsh  is  also  engaged  in  large  operations  in  wood 
and  lumber. 

As  many  of  the  hills  about  New  Milford  are  of  lime  rock 
formation,  the  stone  has  been  mined  and  burned  for  lime  since 
an  early  date ;  but  this  business  has  been  somewhat  neglected  in 
recent  years.  In  1893  Charles  E.  Griffin  leased  or  purchased 
of  Marshall  Marsh  a  tract  of  land  near  Boardman's  Bridge, 
much  of  which  was  composed  of  lime  rock.  There  he  erected 
buildings  and  lime  kilns,  quarrying  and  burning  lime  success- 
fully until  1897,  when  a  fire  destroyed  the  property.  It  was 
soon  rebuilt  and  carried  on  until  1902,  at  which  time  the  plant 
became  incorporated  in  the  New  England  Lime  Company. 
Under  that  name,  the  business  has  greatly  increased,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  excellent  lime  is  produced. 

The  mill  site  at  Little  Falls,  about  one  mile  below  the  village, 
has  from  early  times  been  used  as  a  grist  mill.  It  was  first 
known  as  Ruggles'  Mill,  then,  for  fifty  years,  as  Stillson's 
Mill,  and,  after  that,  as  Giddings'  Mill.  The  structure  is  sub- 
stantially built  of  stone.  In  1884,  William  D.  Black  joined  with 
Levi  P.  Giddings  in  establishing  an  electric  light  plant  there. 
Lewis  F.  Curtis  joined  the  firm  a  few  years  later.  The  New 
Milford  Electric  Light  Company  was  incorporated  in  1893  by 
Lewis  F.  Curtis,  Mrs.  William  D.  Black,  and  Levi  P.  Giddings. 
A  new  dam  of  stone  and  concrete  has  been  recently  constructed 
across  the  river,  which  furnishes  abundant  water  power.  This 
company  furnishes  electricity  for  lighting  the  streets  and  pub- 
lic and  private  houses  in  the  village.  A  few  years  ago,  an  acety- 
lene gas  plant  was  established,  which  is  used  to  a  limited  extent. 

For  many  years  a  company  bought  land  and  "  rights  "  to 
use  land  on  the  Housatonic  River  from  Falls  Village  south- 
ward as  far  as  Newtown.  The  late  Hon.  Nicholas  Staub  was 
very  active  in  this  project.  In  1898  a  company  was  incor- 
porated as  the  New  Milford  Power  Company.  This  company 
built  a  high  dam  at  Bull's  Bridge  and  constructed  a  canal  for 
about  a  mile  down  the  river.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  canal, 
on  the  border  of  this  town,  they  built  a  power-house  and  estab- 
lished on  the  river  electric  machinery  about  one  hundred  and 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          91 

ten  feet  below  the  level  of  the  canal.  Water  is  conveyed  down 
this  steep  declivity  to  the  wheels  through  a  huge  cylinder  thir- 
teen feet  in  diameter.  The  electricity  generated  here  is  carried 
on  wires  to  Waterbury,  Bristol,  and  other  cities,  and  moves  the 
trolley  systems  of  those  places. 

A  company  was  formed  in  1888  for  the  purpose  of  making 
pottery.  Buildings  were  erected  a  short  distance  east  of  Gid- 
dings'  Mill,  which  received  their  power  from  the  mill  by  means 
of  a  long  wire  cable  connected  with  a  water-wheel.  Quite  a 
large  business  was  carried  on  for  a  few  years ;  then  the  plant 
passed  into  other  hands  for  other  purposes. 

George  B.  Calhoun  contributes  the  following  concerning  one 
of  the  large  industries  of  the  town,  the  Bridgeport  Wood  Fin- 
ishing Company: 

"  This  company  was  incorporated  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  on 
October  7,  1876,  with  a  silex  manufacturing  plant  at  Fort 
Ann,  N.  Y.  In  1881  the  company  removed  to  its  present  loca- 
tion at  Still  River,  and  erected  there  a  large  silex,  filler  and 
paint,  and  japan  and  varnish  plant.  The  principal  portion  of 
this  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  February,  1902,  and  was 
rebuilt  with  better  facilities  for  meeting  its  business  require- 
ments. The  products  of  the  company  are  ground  silex  and 
feldspar,  Wheeler's  Patent  Wood  Filler,  Breinig's  Lithogen 
Silicate  Paint,  Breinig's  Water  and  Oil  Stains,  Japans,  Var- 
nishes, etc.  The  business  of  the  company  has  steadily  increased 
in  volume  from  year  to  year,  and  its  products  now  have  a 
world-wide  reputation,  so  that,  at  the  present  time,  agencies 
have  been  established  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  as  well  as  in  Porto  Rico,  South  America, 
and  the  principal  European  cities.  With  an  auxiliary  silex 
manufacturing  plant  at  Branchville,  Conn.,  and  branch  offices 
and  warehouses  in  New  York  City,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and 
Chicago,  the  company  is  well  equipped  to  care  for  its  largely 
increasing  interests  at  home  and  abroad.  The  officers  of  the 
company  are:  David  E.  Breinig,  president  and  general  man- 
ager; Edward  E.  Porter,  vice-president;  George  B.  Calhoun, 
secretary ;  Henry  S.  Mygatt,  treasurer." 

The  cause  of  education  has  always  received  the  earnest  at- 


92  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

tention  of  the  citizens  of  New  Milford,  and  the  little  brown 
schoolhouses,  planted  a  few  miles  apart,  in  which  the  boys  and 
girls  received  all  their  book  learning,  were  landmarks  in  the 
New  England  colonies,  as  are  to-day  the  more  pretentious 
structures  which  have  supplanted  them.  In  the  early  days,  the 
Bible  was  read  every  morning  at  the  opening  of  school  and 
religious  instruction  was  given;  it  was  also  thought  proper  to 
invoke  the  blessing  of  the  Great  Ruler  of  the  Universe. 

New  Milford  was  divided  into  twenty  school  districts,  the 
schools  of  which  taught  the  elementary  branches.  In  later 
years,  as  the  population  increased  and  a  greater  desire  for 
knowledge  was  manifested,  private  and  select  schools  and  acad- 
emies were  founded  in  different  parts  of  the  town ;  at  Gaylords- 
ville,  at  Northville,  and  in  this  village. 

The  most  noted  school,  established  in  the  early  part  of  the 
last  half  century,  was  the  Housatonic  Institute,  which  was  car- 
ried on  many  years  by  Benjamin  J.  Stone  and  Mary  A.,  his 
wife.  It  was  situated  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Memorial 
Hall.  This  school  was  known  far  and  wide  and  received  pupils 
from  the  surrounding  towns.  Many  of  the  older  people  of  the 
town  received  their  education  there. 

A  famous  school  for  boys  was  the  Adelphi  Institute,  which 
removed  from  Cornwall,  Conn.,  to  this  town  in  I860.  Ambrose 
S.  Rogers  put  up  fine  buildings  on  the  sightly  hillside  southeast 
of  the  village,  and  conducted  for  many  years  an  educational 
institution  which  took  the  form  of  a  military  school  during  the 
Civil  War. 

The  Center  School  is  graded.  Its  several  departments  range 
from  the  kindergarten  to  the  high  school,  which  last  prepares 
students  for  college.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  about  one 
thousand  one  hundred  children  in  the  town  between  the  ages  of 
four  and  sixteen  years. 

The  first  kindergarten  school  in  the  town  was  opened  in  1873 
by  Mrs.  Andrew  Bristol,  assisted  by  Miss  Mary  C.  Wells.  Miss 
Wells  succeeded  Mrs.  Bristol  in  1878,  and  removed  the  school 
to  her  own  home  on  Elm  Street.  It  is  called  "  Sunny  Nook." 
She  prepared  herself  for  teaching  at  the  New  York  Normal 


POST-GRADUATE     DEPAHTMEXT 


specialists  are  employed  as 
teachers  and  the  regular 
course  exceeds  the  college 
entrance  requirements.  It  is 
especially  a  finishing  school 
and  its  Post-Graduate  De- 
partment gives  unusual  op- 
portunities for  specializing 
in  music,  art,  literature,  lan- 
guages, etc.  Physical  train- 
ing is  a  popular  feature. 
The  number  of  pupils  is 
limited  to  one  hundred. 


I  n  gl  e  s  i  d  e 
School  was  es- 
tablished in 
1892  by  Mrs. 
William  D. 
Black,  a  daugh- 
ter  of  Hon. 
David  C.  San- 
ford  and  a  na- 
tive of  New 
Milford. 

It  is  a  school 
for  girls  and  has 
been  patronized 
by  prominent 
families  in  most 
of  the  states. 

The  literary 
standard  is 
high.  The  best 


INGI.ESIDE     BUNGALOW 


FOUNDATION'     HOUSE 

VIEWS    OF    IXGLESIDE    SCHOOL 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS         93 

Kindergarten,  at  which  she  graduated  in  1878.  Miss  Wells 
conducts  her  school  with  great  success. 

The  Ingleside  School  for  girls,  which  was  established  by  Mrs. 
William  D.  Black,  in  1892,  and  is  the  pride  of  the  town,  is 
described  in  another  place. 

There  are  six  churches  in  the  village — the  First*  Congrega- 
tional, the  parent  church ;  St.  John's  (Episcopal)  ;  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal;  St.  Francis  Xavier  (Roman  Catholic);  All 
Saints'  Memorial  (Episcopal)  ;  and  the  Advent  Christian. 
There  is  a  Baptist  church  at  Northville,  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Gaylordsville,  and  the  old  Quaker  Meeting-house  at 
Lanesville.  Boardman  and  Merryall  have  each  a  chapel,  in 
which  Sunday  schools  and  religious  meetings  are  held  weekly. 
A  Sabbath  school  is  conducted  in  Chestnut  Land  District. 

The  Memorial  Hall  and  Library  was  erected  in  1897  as  a 
memorial  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  New  Milford.  Egbert 
Marsh  contributed  ten  thousand  dollars  toward  the  building 
and  gave  part  of  the  lot.  He  also  gave  the  fund  for  supplying 
books  to  the  library.  Individuals  contributed  the  balance  of 
the  cost  of  this  memorial.  The  upper  story  is  the  headquarters 
of  Upton  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  which  was  or- 
ganized December  20,  1882,  with  twenty-six  charter  members. 

The  first  newspaper  in  this  village  was  the  New  Milford  Re- 
publican, established  in  1845,  by  J.  K.  Averill,  who  carried  it 
on  for  a  year,  then  removed  to  Litchfield,  Conn. 

Messrs.  Bailey  and  Donavan  of  Danbury,  publishers  of  the 
Danbury  News,  began,  in  1872,  to  publish  the  New  Milford 
Journal,  which  was  soon  after  sold  to  J.  R.  Johnson,  and,  later, 
to  Marcus  L.  Delevan,  who  changed  its  name  to  the  Housa- 
tonic  Ray.  The  Gazette  was  started  by  Gee  and  Hale  in  1877, 
and  passed  shortly  after  into  the  hands  of  Robert  Erwin. 
Joshua  A.  Bolles  and  Franklyn  Henry  Giddings  of  Great  Bar- 
rington,  Mass.,  purchased  the  Ray  in  1882  and,  a  little  later, 
the  Gazette,  and  merged  the  two  papers  into  the  New  Milford 
Gazette.  Mr.  Giddings  soon  withdrew  from  the  paper,  not  find- 
ing sufficient  scope  probably  as  an  editor  of  a  country  news- 

*  The  Second  Congregational  Church  was  established  in  Bridgewater 
Society  which  became  the  town  of  Bridgewater  in  1856. 


94  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

paper  for  his  great  ability.  He  has  since  attained  world-wide 
fame  as  Professor  of  Sociology  at  Columbia  University,  hav- 
ing written  several  works  on  sociology  and  kindred  subjects, 
some  of  which  have  been  translated  into  many  languages.  Mr. 
Bolles  continued  to  conduct  the  Gazette  with  much  ability  till 
he  was  stricken  with  a  disease  which  suddenly  caused  his  death, 
to  the  sorrow  of  the  whole  community.  The  paper  then  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Philip  Wells,  the  present  proprietor. 

New  Milford  has  had  a  brass  band  most  of  the  time  during 
the  last  half  century.  The  original  band  was  organized  in  1855 
by  Earl  Buckingham,  who  was  its  first  leader.  At  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  War,  the  band  engaged  with  the  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry.  It  was  discharged  by  Act  of  Congress 
after  having  served  about  eleven  months.  In  1872,  a  reorgan- 
ization was  effected,  with  Winfred  Soule  as  leader.  Under  dif- 
ferent leaders,  the  band  has  continued,  with  occasional  lapses,  to 
the  present  time. 

Roger  Sherman  Hall  was  built  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  is  of  brick,  and  has  a  large  hall  on 
the  second  floor;  a  courtroom,  probate,  town  offices,  and  a  law 
library  on  the  first  floor ;  and  a  town  courtroom  and  "  lockup  " 
in  the  basement.  It  stands  on  the  site  of  William  Sherman's 
store,  where  Roger  Sherman  had  his  shoe  shop.  On  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  October,  1897,  a  bronze  tablet  to  the  memory  of  Roger 
Sherman,  which  had  been  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  front 
entrance  of  the  building,  was  unveiled  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
company.  The  tablet  was  the  gift  of  the  Roger  Sherman 
Chapter,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  organized 
May  15,  1893.  Mrs.  Sara  T.  Kinney,  State  Regent,  D.  A.  R. ; 
Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  a  nephew  of  Roger  Sherman ;  Sena- 
tor Joseph  R.  Hawley ;  and  Henry  S.  Sanford  made  addresses. 

The  first  bank  was  started  here  in  1852  with  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  capital,  under  the  name  of  the  Litchfield 
County  Bank.  It  occupied  a  small  brick  building  near  the 
Boardman  residence  on  Main  Street.  Frederick  G.  Chittenden 
was  president.  The  first  cashier  was  A.  McAllister  of  Bridge- 
port, Conn.  George  W.  Whittlesey  succeeded  Mr.  McAllister 


ANDREW  B.  MYGATT 
Born  1820,  died  1901 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MIL.FORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          95 

as  cashier,  and  Eli  Mygatt  and  Henry  W.  Booth  were  succes- 
sively presidents.  In  1865  it  was  changed  to  a  national  bank 
and  called  the  First  National  Bank  of  New  Milford.  The  pres- 
idents were  successively  Daniel  Marsh,  Henry  W.  Booth,  An- 
drew B.  Mygatt,  Isaac  B.  Bristol,  and  Henry  S.  Mygatt;  the 
cashiers,  John  J.  Conklin,  Henry  Ives,  Henry  S.  Mygatt,  and 
Everett  J.  Sturges.  The  present  officers  are :  Henry  S.  Mygatt, 
president;  Seymour  S.  Green,  vice-president;  and  Everett  J. 
Sturges,  cashier.  The  clerks  are  Robert  E.  Murphy,  Roland  F. 
Mygatt,  and  Ray  W.  Leach. 

The  New  Milford  Savings  Bank  was  organized  in  1858.  Eli 
Mygatt  was  president,  Silas  Erwin  vice-president,  and  John  S. 
Turrill  secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  Turrill  was  succeeded  by 
Charles  Randall,  who  was  succeeded,  in  turn,  by  his  son,  H. 
LeRoy  Randall,  the  present  incumbent.  The  present  officers 
are :  Turney  Soule,  president ;  Seymour  S.  Green,  vice-president ; 
H.  LeRoy  Randall,  treasurer ;  Edwin  J.  Emmons,  assistant 
treasurer.  When  Dr.  James  Hine  was  president,  a  fine  build- 
ing for  the  bank  was  built  on  Bank  Street,  which  was  destroyed 
in  the  great  fire.  On  completion  of  the  new  United  Bank  Build- 
ing, the  bank  was  installed  there. 

The  Agricultural  Society  of  New  Milford  was  formed  in 
1858,  and,  since  that  time,  has  held  fairs  and  cattle  shows  each 
year — with  a  few  exceptions.  It  now  occupies  a  fine  site  at 
Conetia  Park. 

The  New  Milford  Water  Company  was  chartered  in  1873, 
and  organized  with  a  board  of  directors.  Charles  H.  Booth 
was  chosen  president,  Charles  H.  Noble,  secretary  and  treasurer, 
and  Henry  0.  Warner,  superintendent.  A  reservoir  was  located 
on  the  hill  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter  northeast  of  the  village, 
near  the  source  of  Cross  Brook,  which  is  fed  by  springs  of  pure 
water.  Three  other  reservoirs  have  since  been  built  of  such 
capacity  that  the  supply  of  water  is  ample  for  the  public  and 
private  uses  of  the  village.  The  present  officers  of  the  com- 
pany are:  Albert  H.  McMahon,  president;  Verton  P.  Staub, 
superintendent ;  and  Harry  S.  Sanf ord,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  first  fire  company,  organized  in  1830,  was  disbanded  in 


96  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

1863,  and  succeeded  by  the  Water  Witch  Engine  Company  No. 
2.  This  company  was  succeeded,  in  its  turn,  in  1876,  by  the 
Water  Witch  Hose  Company,  No.  2,  which  now  occupies  a  com- 
modious building  on  Church  Street. 

New  Milford  has  had  several  ruinous  fires  in  its  history.  A 
fire  swept  through  Bank  Street  in  I860,  and  another,  a  few 
years  later ;  but  the  most  destructive  conflagration  occurred  on 
May  5,  1902,  when  the  village  was  startled  by  the  ringing  of 
bells,  the  tooting  of  steam  whistles,  and  the  cry  of  "  Fire ! " 
Smoke  and  flames  were  seen  issuing  from  the  stables  back  of 
the  New  Milford  House.  The  hose  company  hastening  to  the 
scene  put  forth  great  efforts,  and  for  a  time  seemed  to  have 
obtained  control;  but  the  flames  spread  in  all  directions,  to  the 
alarm  of  the  inhabitants,  who  were  removing  their  goods  to 
supposed  places  of  security.  The  solid  block  on  Bank  Street 
was  soon  in  flames.  Then,  in  spite  of  the  strenuous  exertions 
of  the  firemen,  the  fire  leaped  across  the  street  to  the  north  side 
and  ignited  the  roofs  of  brick  buildings  where  merchandise  had 
been  placed  for  safety.  The  neighboring  city  of  Danbury  sent 
a  gallant  band  of  firemen  with  one  of  their  best  engines,  with 
which  they  labored  with  great  zeal  to  subdue  the  flames.  With 
the  aid  of  our  own  brave  boys,  this  was  finally  accomplished, 
but  not  until  the  whole  block  and  both  sides  of  Bank  Street 
were  smoking  ruins.  Three  hotels,  two  bank  buildings,  the 
Post  Office  building,  and  the  largest  mercantile  establishments 
in  the  town,  with  their  contents,  were  destroyed.  The  only 
building  in  the  whole  square  that  was  saved  intact  was  the  fine 
mansion  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Bridge  streets, 
the  residence  of  State  Bank  Commissioner  Charles  H.  Noble 
and  his  brother,  Town  Clerk  Russell  B.  Noble — worthy  descend- 
ants of  the  pioneer  settler  of  the  town. 

Did  the  brave  merchants  and  men  of  affairs,  who  could  do 
nothing  while  they  saw  their  property  go  up  in  smoke,  sit  down 
in  despair?  Not  they!  They  cleared  away  the  rubbish  before 
it  was  cold.  They  worked  with  a  will  to  bring  order  out  of 
chaos.  They  erected  on  "  The  Green  "  cheap  wooden  build- 
ings, in  which  they  gathered  the  remnants  of  their  goods ;  and 


ACTIVITIES  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  LATER  YEARS          97 

soon  the  beautiful  square  looked  like  a  mushroom  city  in  some 
mining  district  of  the  West.  They  named  it  "  Shanty  Town," 
and  for  several  months  business  was  transacted  there. 

After  the  fire,  streets  were  improved,  and  the  system  of 
drainage  was  extended.  Stores  were  enlarged — some  to  double 
their  former  size — their  business  increased,  and  in  less  than  two 
years  no  trace  of  the  terrible  catastrophe  was  visible. 

The  town  was  rebuilt  of  brick,  iron,  and  stone,  more  beautiful 
and  substantial  than  before.  The  three  hotels,  which  had  been 
of  wood,  were  replaced  by  much  larger  buildings  of  brick.  On 
the  site  of  that  famous  hostelry,  the  New  England  Hotel,  now 
stands  the  magnificent  United  Bank  Building,  one  of  the  best 
equipped  banking  establishments  in  Western  Connecticut.  The 
National  Bank  occupies  one  side,  and  the  Savings  Bank  the 
other  side  of  this  structure,  while  in  the  second  story  are  hand- 
some, commodious  offices. 

The  railroad  station  was  partly  burned,  but  was  soon  reno- 
vated, and  at  that  point  in  the  town  great  changes  are  now  in 
progress.  A  new  freight  depot  is  being  erected  and  more 
tracks  are  being  laid.  In  the  near  future,  a  new  passenger  sta- 
tion is  to  be  built,  and  other  improvements  will  be  made. 

The  population  of  the  town  is  increasing,  being  estimated  at 
the  present  time  as  fifty-five  hundred  inhabitants.  A  Board  of 
Trade  was  organized  many  years  ago.  A  commercial  club  now 
occupies  the  fine  rooms  over  the  new  Post  Office.  The  Town 
Court  was  established  in  1901,  and  Postmaster  George  H.  Jack- 
son was  appointed  the  first  judge.  J.  Edwin  Hungerford  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  J.  Butler  Merwin  is  the  present  incumbent. 
The  wooden  bridges  that  spanned  the  Housatonic,  and  were  at 
times  swept  away  by  floods,  have  given  place  to  graceful  iron 
structures,  which  are  above  the  reach  of  high  water.  The  town 
possesses  an  excellent  telephone  system.  The  facilities  for 
supplying  all  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants  are  adequate.  In  a 
word,  to  quote  Newell  Calhoun,  "  Wealth,  learning,  and  re- 
ligion have  their  abiding  places  here,  and  have  helped  to  make 
this  village  the  resting  place  of  the  weary,  and  the  working 
place  of  the  industrious." 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    MILFORD 
TOLD    IN    CHRONOLOGICAL    EPITOME 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  RUSSELL  B.  NOBLE  AND  MINOT  S.  GIDDINGS 

1702.  Indian  Deed  to  the  Proprietors   of  New  Milford  was 
given,    signed   by    fourteen    Indians.     Consideration,    Sixty 
pounds   current  money  of  the  Colony   of  Connecticut,   and 
twenty  pounds  in  goods. 

There  were  109  proprietors  who  owned  Rights. 

The   Committee   were   Robert   Treat,   Sen.,   Thomas    Clarke, 

Sen.,  George  Clarke,  Joseph  Treat,  Joseph  Peck,  Jonathan 

Baldwin. 

New  Milford  was  called  a  Plantation  till  1712. 

1703.  The  Legislative  title  called  the  "  Patent "  was  granted 
by  the  Grand  Court  to  New  Milford. 

1706.  Zachariah  Ferriss  came  to  New  Milford  and  plowed  a 
piece  of  land  near  Roger  Sherman  Hall — the  first  work  done 
by  a  white  man  here. 

1707.  The  names  of  the  three  earliest  settlers  of  New  Milford 
are:  John  Noble  from  Wcstfield.  JMass..  John  Bostwick,  from 
Stratford,  Ct.,  John  JN^qble,  Jr. ,  from  Westfield,  Mass. 

1708.  Daniel  Bostwick  was  born ;  the  first  male  child  born  in 
New  Milford. 

Dea.  Samuel  Brownson,  Farmington,  Ct.,  Major  John 
Bostwick,  Jr.,  Stratford,  Ct.,  and  Zachariah  Ferriss,  Strat- 
ford, Ct.,  settled  in  New  Milford. 

1709  or  1710.  Roger  Brownson,  Farmington,  Ct. ;  John 
Weller,  Springfield,  Mass,  and  Thomas  Weller,  Westfield, 
Mass.,  settled  in  New  Milford. 

1710.  Sarah  Ferriss  was  born ;  the  first  female  child  born  in 
New  Milford. 

1711.  Benjamin  Bostwick,  Stratford,  Ct;  Isaiah  Bartlet,  and 
Samuel  Prindle,  Milford,  Ct.,  settled  in  New  Milford. 

98 


STORY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME         99 

1712.  The  General  Assembly  of  Conn,  granted  the  powers  and 
privileges  of  a  Township. 

1712  and  1713.  Samuel  Beebe  and  John  Weller  were  chosen 
grand  jury  and  sworn. 

Benoni  Stebbins  and  Stephen  Noble  were  chosen  haywards, 
or  field-drivers. 

William  Gaylord  was  chosen  inspector  and  brander,  and 
sworn. 

John  Bostwick,  Sen.,  was  chosen  Collector. 

Voted :  that  the  inhabitants  should  pay  Six  pounds,  fifteen 
shillings  towards  the  minister's  board,  Zachariah  Ferriss,  Jr., 
holder,  Samuel  Brownson,  town  treasurer. 

1713.  Ensign  Wm.  Gaylord  came  to  New  Milford,  residing 
on  the  lot  subsequently  owned  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor. 

The  town  voted  to  lay  out  a  pastor's  lot  and  dig  and  stone 
up  a  well  for  Mr.  Boardman,  if  he  became  the  settled  min- 
ister. 

Voted :  to  grant  a  twenty-four  shilling  lot  to  Mr.  Daniel 
Boardman,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  at  the  said  place,  to 
his  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  upon  a  condition  that  he  shall 
become  their  settled  minister  of  the  place,  and  continue  so 
for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  or  during  his  natural  life  and 
ability  so  to  be. 

Voted:  that  a  dwelling  house,  forty  feet  in  length  and 
twenty-one  in  breadth  and  two  stories  high,  and  fourteen  feet 
between  joints,  be  forthwith  built  upon  the  land  at  New  Mil- 
ford,  proposed  to  be  granted  to  Mr.  Boardman. 

John  Nobje  was_chosen  the  first  Town  Clerk.  Zachariah 
Ferriss,  Samuel  Brownson,  and  Samuel  Hitchcock  were 
chosen  Selectmen.  John  Bostwick  was  chosen  constable  and 
sworn.  Zachariah  Ferriss,  surveyor.  John  Noble,  Sen.,  and 
John  Bostwick,  Jr.,  were  chosen  collectors  to  join  with  Mr. 
Jonathan  Law  to  collect  12  shilling  tax  for  the  year. 

1714.  Main   Street,   Bridge   Street,   Elm   Street  and   Bennitt 
Street  laid  out. 

Voted :  that  there  shall  be  five  shillings  and  sixpence  allowed 
by  the  week  for  the  minister's  board  for  the  time  to  come. 


100  THE  PAST  AND  PEESENT 

Voted :  that  there  shall  be  six  shillings  cash  allowed  by  the 
town  to  David  Noble,  in  case  he  beat  the  drum  the  year 
coming  upon  all  public  meetings. 

John  Noble  died  Aug.  17.  He  was  the  first  adult  to  be 
buried  in  the  graveyard. 

1715.  In  view  of  the  need  of  a  grist  mill  in  the  town,  the  pro- 
prietors, in  a  meeting  held  at  Milford,  Feb.  24,  1715,  made 
this   arrangement.     Voted:  that  Ens.   Samuel  Clark,  Sergt. 
Samuel  Beard,  and  Samuel  Brownson,  are  chosen  a  committee 
to  agree  with  some  person  to  build  a  mill  on  some  part  of 
Still  river  or  elsewhere  at  his  own  charge. 

1716.  John  Griswold  came  from  Wethersfield  and  built  a  mill 
at  what  is  now  Lanesville. 

The  "  First  Church  of  Christ "  was  organized  by  Council 
on  the  day  of  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Boardman,  and  his  call 
and  acceptance  of  the  ministry.  Religious  meetings  were 
held  in  the  house  built  by  Mr.  John  Reed  until  a  new  meeting 
house  was  built. 

The  burying  place  laid  out — Center  Cemetery. 

1718.  Highway    laid    out    from    Danbury    road    to    Mill    at 
Lanesville. 

Highway  laid  out  across  Indian  Field  from  river  on  west 
side. 

Highway  laid  out  from  Park  Lane  eastward. 

1719.  Highway  from  Main  Street  to  Great  Falls  on  east  side 
river  laid  out  30  rods  wide. 

1722.  June  12th,  the  New  Milford  North  Purchase  was  made. 
It  was  taken  from  Waramaug's  reserve. 

The  first  highway  on  west  side  of  river  to  New  Fairfield 
line  through  Gaylordsville  laid  out. 

Highway  laid  out  on  west  side  of  Great  River  from  Rocky 
River  by  marked  trees  to  Winnisink  Brook. 

Highway  laid  out  northward. 

1723.  Ensign  Wm.  Gaylord  went  to  Gaylordsville  and  built 
a  log  cabin. 

1724-5.     Capt.  John  Warner  was  the  first  settler  at  the  "  South 
Farm  "  (lower  part  of  New  Milford). 


STORY   OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME       101 

1728.  Ensign  Wm.  Gaylord  erected  a  frame  house  which  is 
still  standing. 

The  first  Grand  List  made  in  New  Milford. 

1730.  John  Noble..  8d.  one  of  the  first  three  settlers  in  New 
Milford,  sold  his  hduse  and  lot  in  the  village  Nov.  6,  to 
William  Gillett  of  Milford,  and  soon  after  settled  at  Gallows 
Hill,  New  Milford  plains,  and  resided  there  during  his  life. 
He  was  the  first  permanent  settler  below  Gallows  Hill. 

1733.  Capt.  Joseph  Ruggles  was  the  third  or  fourth  settler 
at  the  Iron  Works  (Brookfield). 

1734.  A  burying  place  laid  out  in  South  Farms,  New  Milford, 
called  Gallows  Hill,  lying  on  the  country  road  to  Danbury. 

1736.  "  Capt.    Stephen   Noble,   Dea.   John  Bostwick,    Samuel 
Canfield,  Sergt.  Nathaniel  Bostwick,  and  Joseph  Ferriss  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  order  all  the  prudentials  in  building 
a  bridge  over  the  Great  River  in  said  New  Milford  at  the 
place  the  town  hath  agreed  upon,  &c." 

This  was  a  free  bridge  and  was  partly  carried  away  by  the 
floods  in  about  three  years,  when  a  toll  bridge  was  erected 
in  its  place. 

Rev.  Daniel  Boardman  was  granted  the  privileges  of  the 
bridge  free  of  cost. 

1737.  The  Great  Bridge  across  the  Housatonic  river  was  built 
in  1737 — the  first  to  be  built  from  its  source  to  its  mouth. 

1741.  The  first  Quaker  Meeting  House  built  in  or  about  this 
year,  on  Danbury  road  west  side  of  river,  nearly  opposite 
Little  Falls. 

1743.  Roger  Sherman  came  to  New  Milford  from  Newton, 
Mass. 

Feb.  6.  "  Voted :  that  Mr.  Roger  Sherman  shall  pass  and 
repass  over  the  bridge  and  his  family;  he  paying  ten 
shillings." 

December.  "  Voted :  that  the  Indian  natives  shall  pass  and 
repass  over  the  bridge  toll-free." 

December.  "  Voted :  that  all  persons  that  shall  pass  or 
repass  on  the  Sabbath  or  Lord's  Day  between  sunrise  and 
sunset,  in  order  to  attend  the  public  Worship  of  God  in  a 


102  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

lawful  congregation  in  New  Milford,  shall  pass  free  from 
payment  over  the  great  bridge  in  said  town  for  the  coming 
year." 

1744.  Until  1744  there  was  but  one  military  company  in  the 
Town.  The  officers  were  as  follows:  Capt.  Stephen  Noble 

—        ft      Jr       i  — *"•* 

(served  20  years),  Lieut.  John  Bostwick,  Ensign  Wm.  Gay- 
lord,  Capt.  Theophilus  Baldwin,  Lieut.  Joseph  Bostwick, 
Ensign  Samuel  Canfield. 

1746.  The  first  Episcopal  Church  was  established  in  New  Mil- 
ford  about  this  time. 

1746.  Roger  Sherman  settled  with  his  brother  William  on  the 
west  side  of  Winnisink  brook,  the  place  called  New  Dilloway. 

1754.  Rev.    Solomon    Palmer,    the    first  "  resident    Episcopal 
clergyman,  came  to  New  Milford. 

Voted :  "  that  the  meeting-house shall  be  erected  in 

the  town  street,  east  from  Joseph  Northrop's  dwelling  house 
and  west  from  Samuel  Comstock's  well,  where  there  is  a  heap 
of  stones  erected." 

Voted :  "  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  Society  will  raise  the 
meeting-house  by  free  will  offering." 

Voted :  "  that  the  committee  shall  provide  what  liquors  they 
shall  think  necessary  to  be  used  at  the  raising  of  the  meeting- 
house at  the  cost  of  the  Society." 

The  second  Congregational  meeting-house  was  built. 

The  Newbury  Society  was  incorporated. 

1755.  The  bridge  was  carried  away  by  flood,  and  a  new  bridge 
built  by  the  taxpayers  of  the  town,  and  the  Assembly  granted 
the  privilege  of  taking  toll  of  all  persons  except  taxpayers. 

Ezekiel  Payne  settled  on  the  east  side  of  the  Housatonic, 
at  Gaylords  Ville. 

Lazarus  Ruggles  settled  at  Lanesville  and  erected  the  Iron 
Works. 

1756.  "Voted:  that  the  old  meeting-house  which  belongs  to 
this  Society  shall  be  disposed  of  as  follows,  viz. :  three-quar- 
ters of  the  body  seats  and  two  pews  shall  be  given  to  the 
Church  of  England,  and  the  remainder  of  the  body  seats  to 
the  Quakers  in  this  Society,  and  the  pulpit  to  those  of  New- 


CAPTAIN  GARRY  BROOKS 

Grandson  of  Rev.  Thomas  Brooks,  first  pastor  at  Brookfield,  Connecticut, 
and  the  oldest  living  person  born  in  Xew  Milford 


STORY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME       103 

bury  (Brookfield),  and  the  gallery  seats  to  those  of  New 
Preston  Society  which  belong  to  New  Milford,  and  the  re- 
mainder to  be  disposed  of  and  the  avails  of  it  improved 
toward  the  new  meeting-house  in  this  Society." 

1757.  Mary  Roberts  gave  her  negro  slave,  Dan,  his  freedom 
upon  his  paying  her  £3,  2s.  5d.  annually  during  his  life. 

The  church  was  organized  in  Newbury  Society  Sept.  28th. 
Mr.  Thomas  Brooks  was  ordained  the  first  minister. 

1758.  Capt.  Joseph  Canfield  raised  a  company  and  served  with 
them  under  Col.  David  Wooster.     They  marched  to  Albany 
in  May. 

1760.  Gaylordsville  School  District  laid  out. 
Upper  Merryall  burying  ground  laid  out. 

1761.  The   Separatists   or   Strict   Congregationalists   built   a 
house  of  worship  near  the  Center  Cemetery. 

An  effort  made  to  clear  the  Housatonic  River  for  naviga- 
tion. A  committee  appointed  and  liberty  granted  to  raise 
300  pounds  money  by  lottery. 

1766.  The  bridge  was  carried  away  and  rebuilt,  and  in  three 
years  a  part  of  it  went  off  again.  It  was  again  repaired 
but  did  not  remain  a  y«ar. 

1769.  School  District  organized.     Jared  Lane  introduced  the 
Lombardy  poplar  tree  into  New  Milford  the  latter  part  of 
the  century. 

1770.  Voted:  "  that  the  town  relinquish  all  their  right  to  any 
part  of  the  bridge  to  the  proprietors,  who  shall  rebuild  the 
same  in  any  place  between  Little  Falls  and  Wannipee  Island." 

1771.  School  District  on  east  side  of  the  river  laid  out. 

1774.  Partridge   Thatcher   liberated   his    slave    Sibyl   on   her 
marrying  Amos  Lewis,  a  negro  man. 

1775.  Capt.  Isaac  Bostwick  was  sent  with  a  company  of  sixty- 
five  officers   and  men  from  New  Milford  to  Boston   in  the 
autumn  and  winter  of  1775,  and  remained  there  during  Jan- 
uary and  February,   1776.     They   were  in   Colonel  Webb's 
Regiment. 

1776.  Josiah  Starr  served  in  the  Revolution.     In  May,  1776, 
he  was  appointed  Captain.     In  June  he  was  appointed  Lieu- 


104  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

tenant  Colonel,  Commission  dated  January  9th,  1777,  signed 
by  John  Hancock.  He  was  commissioned  as  Colonel,  1780. 
Died  Oct.  15,  1813. 

1776.  Capt.  Couch's  Company,  in  Col.  Andrew  Ward's  Regi- 
ment, containing  seventy-six  officers  and  men,  were  sent  to 
New  York.     The  company  was  in  the  service  two  months  and 
twenty-three  days. 

At  an  annual  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
New  Milford  holden  on  the  9th  day  of  December,  1776,  the 
committee  of  Inspection  and  Correspondence  appointed  were: 
Mr.  Samuel  Comstock,  Mr.  Israel  Baldwin,  Capt.  Abram 
Camp,  Daniel  Everitt,  Esq.,  Capt.  James  Terrill,  Mr.  John 
Comstock,  Mr.  George  Smith,  Doct.  Jonah  Todd,  Joseph 
Ruggles,  Esq.,  Col.  Bushnell  Bostwick,  Samuel  Bostwick, 
Esq.,  Col.  Samuel  Canfield,  William  Cogswell,  Esq.,  Abel 
Hine,  Esq.,  Mr.  Amos  Northrop,  Capt.  Sherman  Boardman, 
Mr.  Reuben  Booth,  Mr.  Asahel  Noble,  Dea.  Benjamin  Gay- 
lord,  Mr.  Oliver  Warner,  Mr.  Caleb  Bennett,  Mr.  Samuel 
Warner,  Dea.  Ebenezer  Hotchldss. 

1777.  Public  town  meeting  held  Mar.  10.     Voted :  "  That  the 
regulations  contained  in  the  late  Acts  of  Assembly  respecting 
the  laying  of  embargoes  and  the  stating  of  prices  now  in 
force  are  good  and  wholesome,  and  such  ought  to  be  strictly 
adhered  to  and  that  it  is  the  indefeasible  duty  of  all  inform- 
ing and  executive  officers  to  prosecute  in  the  most  effectual 
manner  all  violations  of  said  regulations;  and  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  to  give  all  the  assistance 
in  their  power  to  such  officers  in  the  discharge  of  their  afore- 
said duty." 

Mar.  31.  "  Voted,  that  a  committee  be  appointed  accord- 
ing to  the  advice  of  His  Honr.,  the  Governor,  &c.,  for  the 
purpose  of  furnishing  the  quota  of  soldiers  in  the  Continental 
service  for  said  New  Milford. 

"  Lt.  Zadock  Noble,  Capt.  Joseph  Ruggles,  Jr.,  Jeremiah 
Canfield,  Mr.  Ithiel  Stone,  Dea.  Israel  Baldwin,  Mr.  Thomas 
Brownson,  and  Mr.  Zachariah  Sanford,  were  chosen  the 
committee. 


STORY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL,  EPITOME       105 

"  Voted,  that  the  town  of  New  Milford  will  give  twelve 
pounds  lawful  money,  bounty,  for  the  first  year's  service  in 
addition  to  all  encouragement  already  given  to  such  inhabit- 
ants of  this  town  as  shall  enlist  into  the  Continental  service 
for  three  years,  or  during  the  present  war,  within  ten  days 
from  this  time,  including  those  who  belong  to  this  town  who 
have  already  enlisted,  subducting  only  their  wages  from  the 
time  they  enlisted  to  this  day,  and  such  private  donations  as 
they  have  received. 

"  That  for  the  second  and  third  years,  said  soldiers  who 
shall  so  enlist  shall  have  six  pounds  lawful  money  pr.  year  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  town  treasury." 

Sept.  30.  "  Capt.  Sherman  Boardman,  Mr.  Samuel  War- 
ner, Mr.  Simeon  Baldwin,  Capt.  Benjamin  Brownson,  Capt. 
Ebenezer  Couch,  Mr.  Ithiel  Stone,  Dea.  Ebenezer  Hotchkiss 
shall  be  a  committee  to  procure  clothing  for  the  soldiers  in 
the  Continental  service." 
1778.  A  meeting  held  in  January  was  recorded  as  follows : 

"  1st.  The  articles  of  Confederacy  as  proposed  by  Con- 
gress stiled,  The  United  States  of  North  America,  was  read 
in  said  meeting  and  •  taken  into  serious  consideration  by 
Articles  separately,  and  in  succession,  and  no  objection  made 
to  said  Articles,  except  some  part  of  ye  5th  Article,  which 
respects  the  mode  of  choosing  our  Delegates  in  Congress. 

"  Voted :  that  the  Freemen  will  always  hold  the  Prerogative 
and  sole  power  choosing  our  Delegates  in  Congress  by  vote. 

"  2d.  Said  Articles  of  Confederacy  was  approved  as 
good,  and  adopted  in  full  by  the  members  of  sd.  meeting 
without  one  dissenting  voice." 

The  Revolutionary  Army  under  General  McDougall  en- 
camped at  Dea.  Benjamin  Gaylord's.  Some  time  during  the 
War  Generals  Washington  and  Layfayette  were  said  to  be 
guests  of  Dea.  Benjamin  Gaylord. 

Army  under  General  McDougall  was  encamped  on  Second 
Hill. 

The  committee  of  inspection  and  correspondence,  which 
was  a  kind  of  home  police  of  patriotism,  were: 


106  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Capt.  Elizur  Warner,  Lt.  Isaac  De  Forest,  Lt.  Benjamin 
Seelye,  Capt.  Reuben  Bostwick,  Capt.  Paul  Yates,  Mr. 
Daniel  Everett,  Capt.  James  Terrill,  Mr.  Amos  Northrop, 
Mr.  John  Porter,  Mr.  Nathan  Gaylord,  Mr.  Samuel  Mer- 
win,  Jr. 

The  committee  to  procure  supplies  for  the  soldiers  in  the 
Continental  army  were:  Capt.  James  Terrill,  Mr.  Reuben 
Booth,  Lt.  David  Smith,  Mr.  Simeon  Baldwin,  Capt. 
Benjamin  Brownson. 

To  provide  clothing  for  the  soldiers  in  the  Continental 
army  were:  Ens.  Jeremiah  Canfield,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hotchkiss, 
Mr.  Simeon  Baldwin,  Mr.  Asahel  Noble. 

1779.  Received,  Litchfielcf  28th  SeptTl779,  of  the  First  So- 
ciety of  New  Milford  by  the  hands  of  Col.  Samuel  Canfield, 
ninety-four  pounds,  sixteen  shillings  money,  which  was  con- 
tributed by  said  Society  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and 
distressed  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  New  Haven,  Fairfield 
and  Norwalk,  £94-16. 

Per  Reuben  Smith,  County  Treasurer. 

Nathan  Dayton  purchased  of  Enos  Camp  a  piece  of  land 
lying  "  southeast  of  the  lime  kiln,"  and  on  it  his  father  and 
brother  Abraham  Dayton  built  a  Saw  Mill.  Col.  Josiah 
Starr  and  Abel  Hine  owned  a  grist-mill  there  at  that  time. 

1780.  The  town  voted  that  every  soldier  who  shall  voluntarily 
enlist  to  serve  in  the  Continental  Battalions  for  the  space  of 
six  months,  or  until  sooner  discharged  shall  be  paid  four 
bushels  of  wheat  or  an  equivalent  in  money  in  addition  to  the 
bounty  already  given  by  the  State.     They  also  voted  to  give 
three  bushels    of   wheat   or   its   equivalent   in   money   to   all 
militia  men  who  might  be  called  to  serve  one  month,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  other  pay,  and  when  they  should  serve  more  than 
a  month,  then  three  bushels  of  wheat  for  every  month. 

Two  months  later  the  town  offered  ten  bushels  of  wheat 
per  month  for  every  soldier  who  should  enlist  for  four  months. 

It  was  voted  that  none  of  the  persons  who  had  voluntarily 
gone  over  and  joined  the  enemy,  shall  be  suffered  to  abide  and 
continue  in  the  town  during  the  present  situation  of  affairs. 


STORY  OF  NEW  MILFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME       107 

March  13.  A  committee  of  inspection  on  provisions, 
agreeable  to  a  late  act  of  Assembly,  was  chosen  as  follows: 
Mr.  Simeon  Baldwin,  Capt.  Noble  Hine,  Mr.  Daniel  Everitt, 
Capt.  Paul  Yates,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hotchkiss,  Mr.  George 
Smith,  Capt.  Sherman  Boardman,  Mr.  Ithiel  Stone,  Mr. 
Thomas  Lewis,  Capt.  Benjamin  Brownson,  Capt.  Reuben 
Bostwick,  Mr.  Israel  Baldwin,  Joseph  Hartwell,  Doct. 
Reuben  Warner,  Benjamin  Gay  lord,  Ebenezer  Gaylord, 
Asahel  Noble,  Capt.  Elizur  Warner,  Israel  Camp,  Lemuel 
Warner,  Capt.  Joseph  Ruggles,  Dea.  Abram  Camp,  Eph- 
raim  Buck,  Samuel  Merwin,  Martin  Warner,  Uri  Jackson, 
Robert  Bostwick,  Nehemiah  Hawley. 

In  June,  upon  the  call  from  Congress  for  more  sol- 
diers, the  town  voted  that  "  every  soldier  who  shall  volun- 
tarily enlist  to  serve  in  the  Continental  Battalions  for  the 
space  of  six  months,  or  until  the  first  day  of  January  next 
(unless  sooner  discharged)  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  town 
treasury  of  said  New  Milford  by  the  first  day  of  January 
for  every  month  they  are  in  said  service,  four  bushels  of 
wheat,  or  an  equivalent  thereto  in  money  in  addition  to 
the  bounty  and  encouragement  already  given  by  the 
State." 

The  first  burial  in  the  Northville  burying  ground  was 
that  of  Abraham  Dayton. 

Partridge  Thatcher  liberated  his  slaves  Jacob  and  Dianah 
gratis. 

Capt.  Sherman  Boardman  liberated  his  negro  slave  Nehe- 
miah. 

John  Treat  liberated  his  negro  man  named  Mingo. 
1782.     Jemima  Wilkinson  came  to  New  Milford,  held  meetings, 
taught  peculiar  doctrines  and  gained  some  adherents.     She 
was  considered  an  impostor. 

1788.  The  Society  of  Newbury  was  organized  into  a  town 
and  named  Brookfield  in  honor  of  Rev.  Thomas  Brooks.  The 
town  was  formed  of  portions  of  the  towns  of  New  Milford, 
Newtown,  and  Danbury.  New  Milford,  Newbury  Society 
contributed  nearly  one-half  of  the  territory. 


108  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

The  Baptists  built  a  small  church  in  the  "  Neck,"  now 
Bridgewater. 

Nicholas  Wanzer  deeded  land  to  a  Society  of  People  called 
Quakers,  it  being  the  same  on  which  the  building  known  as 
the  Quaker  Meeting-house  now  stands. 

1789.  Town  and  School  house  built  north  of  the  cross  high- 
way at  north  end  of  Main  street. 

1790.  Prof.  Nehemiah  Strong  had  a  private  school  for  boys 
about  this  date. 

Rev.  Stanley  Griswold  was  ordained  by  the  Consociation 
of  Litchfield  Co.  Colleague  pastor  with  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Taylor  of  the  First  Church  of  New  Milf ord. 

A  troop  of  horse  formed,  belonging  to  New  Milf  ord,  Wood- 
bury,  and  Litchfield;  Captains  belonging  to  the  town,  were 
William  Taylor,  Stephen  Chittenden,  Jr.  &  Hermen  Canfield. 

1792.  Bridge  built  at  Little  Falls. 

A  company  of  Light  Infantry  was  formed,  of  which  the 
Captains  have  been  Daniel  Boardman,  Nicholas  S.  Masters, 
Briggs  Ingersoll,  Abraham  Hayes. 

1793.  New  Milford  divided  into  two  military  divisions,  line 
running  just  north  of  the  Levi  S.  Knapp  residence.     The  new 
South   Company   was   organized   in   that   year   and   Nathan 
Bostwick  was  made  Captain  and  James  Hine,  Lieutenant. 

A  company  of  militia  was  formed  belonging  to  the  "  Neck  " 
(now  Bridgewater). 

The  second  Episcopal  Church  begun  in  1765  was  finished 
and  consecrated  this  year. 

1794.  June  19.     A  destructive  tornado  crossed  New  Milford ; 
blew  over  houses,  barns,  apple  trees,  destroyed  timber,  killed 
a    child   of   Mr.    Cole;   some   others   wounded,    much   grain 
destroyed. 

New  bridge  across  Great  River  in  the  neck. 

1796.  Watering  place  for  horses  and  cattle  established  on  Dan- 
bury  road  between  Israel  Camp's  and  Ephraim  Buck's. 

The  Union  Circulating  Library  established. 

1797.  Col.  Samuel  Canfield's  name  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
tax  list  of  the  town.     He  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Canfield, 


STORY  OF  NEW  MILFOED  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME       109 

Esq.,  who  was  the  first  Canfield  in  New  Milford  and  one  of 
the  Judges  of  the  General  Court. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting,  Dec.  11,  question  put,  whether 
this  meeting  will  remit  and  give  in  the  fines  which  are  laid 
upon  a  certain  number  of  persons  for  laboring  upon  the  Sab- 
bath at  harvest  work  the  year  past,  and  the  town  treasurer 
be  directed  to  give  up  the  obligations  for  sd.  fines  which  are 
lodged  in  his  hands.  Voted  in  the  negative. 

1800.  Up  to  this  date  there  had  been  eight  military  field 
officers  in  the  town,  viz.:  Major  John  Bostwick,  Col.  Bush- 
nell  Bostwick,  Col.  Samuel  Canfield,  Col.  Josiah  Starr  (in  ye 
Army),  Col.  Elisha  Bostwick,  Maj.  Daniel  Boardman,  Maj. 
Reuben  Warner,  Maj.  William  Taylor. 

The  Merry  all  Plough  Foundry  established  by  Elijah  Hall, 
the  first  foundry  established  in  Conn.,  and  the  first  that  used 
Blacksmith  coal  (bituminous).  Mr.  Hall  went  about  the 
country  disposing  of  his  own  wares  and,  one  trip,  he  collected 
a  bushel  basket  of  coppers  in  payment. 

Perry  Smith  and  William  Terrill  established  a  store  near 
Upper  Merryall. 

1802.  After  stages  began  to  run  for  carrying  the  mail,  the 
bridge  was  carried  away,  and  the  Stage  Coach  Company 
sued  the  town  for  damages  in  failing  to  make  a  crossing. 
The  town  employed  Homer  Boardman  to  build  a  boat  to  be 
run  across  by  a  large  rope  to  meet  the  emergency,  and  the 
next  Spring  they  applied  to  the  Assembly  for  the  privilege 
of  a  toll-bridge. 

1803  or  1804.     Bridge  built  at  Gaylordsville. 

1807.  A  dam  was  built  across  the  river.  Saw  mill  erected  and 
Grist  mill  at  Gaylordsville. 

Peter  Gaylord  built  a  store  on  the  east  side  of  the  river 
about  this  time. 

1809.  Church  organized  in  Bridgewater.     Meeting-house  be- 
gun to  be  built  by  lottery  instituted  1807. 

1810.  St.  Mark's  Episcopal  Church  organized  in  Bridgewater. 
1812.     A  fever  epidemic   occurred  that  carried  off  by  death 

fifty-eight  persons  in  two  and  a  half  months. 


110  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

1814.  St.  Peter's  Lodge  No.  21,  F.  A.  M.  leased  land  of  Eli 
Starr  to  build  Lodge  on. 

1814.  Baptists  at  Northville  organized  a  Church  known  as 
the  New  Milford  Baptist  Church.  Eleazer  Beecher  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them. 

1816.  Upon  the  petition  of  sundry  inhabitants  in  the  vicinity 
of  what  is  called  Gaylord's  Bridge  praying  a  grant  of  money 
from  the  town  to  rebuild  the  bridge  upon  Ousatonic  River 
at  Gaylords  Falls,  it  was  put  to  vote  that  a  sum  of  $400  be 
granted  which  was  negative;  another  vote  was  then  put  for 
a  sum  of  $300  which  was  also  voted  in  the  negative. 

1818.  The  New  Milford  and  Sherman  Turnpike  Company  in- 
corporated. 

1819.  Wm.  Roberts  settled  in  Gaylordsville,  erected  clothing 
works. 

1822.  A  convention  of  delegates  met  to  consider  the  advisa- 
bility of  building  "  The  Housatonic  Valley  Canal."     Funds 
were  raised  and  an  estimate  of  the  expense  of  construction 
made.     The  enterprise  failed. 

1823.  A  Baptist  meeting-house  erected  near  Lower  Merry  all 
burying  place. 

Glover  Sanford  began  making  hats  in  Bridgewater. 

1824.  The    first    Methodist    Church    organized    by    Rev.    C. 
Silliman. 

1826.  Peter   Gay  lord   appointed   first  Postmaster,   Gaylords- 
ville. 

Union  Church  building  erected,  Gaylordsville. 

The  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  North- 
ville bought  of  Henry  Benson  a  piece  of  land  for  erecting 
a  house  of  worship. 

1827.  Sylvanus   Merwin    erected   a    store   and   hotel   on   west 
side. 

1828-9.  A  Methodist  meeting-house  was  built  at  the  Corners 
at  the  old  John  Warner  place  in  Lanesville. 

1830.  Anan  Hine,  James  S.  Clark,  and  George  Taylor,  and 
such  other  persons  as  they  shall  associate  with  them,  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty  in  the  whole,  be  and  they  and  their  successors 


REV.   NOAH  PORTER,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 

Pastor  Congregational  Church,  New  Milford,  1836-1843;  President 
of  Yale  College,  1871-1886 


STORY  OF  NEW  MLLFORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  EPITOME       111 

are  made  a  corporation  by  the  name  of  "  The  New  Milf  ord 
Fire  Company." 

A  Baptist  Church  was  organized. 

1832.  Roswell  and  Sheldon  Northrop  started  Machinery  busi- 
ness and  Foundry  in  Maryland  District,  now  carried  on  by 
Jasper  A.  Northrop  in  this  village. 

1833.  Congregational  Church  erected. 

1835.  New  Milford  Toll  Bridge  Company  incorporated  with 
liberty  to  erect  and  maintain  two  toll  bridges,  one  at  the 
present  in  the  village,  the  other  at  the  great  falls. 

1836.  A  special  town  meeting  held  February  29,  to  take  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  making  an  appropriation  not 
exceeding  $500  to  defray  the  expense  of  surveying  a  route 
or  routes  for  a  railroad  to  pass  through  the  town.     It  was 
voted  that   the  Treasurer  be   authorized   to  borrow   on   the 
credit  of  the  town  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars 
to  be  devoted  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  object. 

1837.  A  special  town  meeting,  May  12,  voted  to  grant  the 
request  of  New  Milford  and  Sherman  Turnpike  Company 
upon  the  consideration  that  said  company  or  some  other  com- 
pany for  that  purpose  to  be  formed  shall  build  and  keep 
in  repair  a  toll  bridge  at  the  place  commonly  called  Board- 
man's  Bridge. 

1840.  The  Housatonic  Railroad  was  opened  from  New  Mil- 
ford    to   Bridgeport.     Daniel   Marsh    was   the   first   station 
agent. 

Highway  from  near  railroad  station  to  village  of  North- 
ville,  laid  out  by  commissioners,  commencing  at  land  of  David 
S.  Boardman. 

1841.  The  New  Milford  Washingtonian  Temperance  Benevo- 
lent Society  organized.     Within  three  years  900  names  were 
recorded  as  members. 

1842.  Town  appropriated  one  hundred  dollars  to  assist  in  pav- 
ing water  courses  in  village  provided  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  be  expended  by  the  inhabitants  of  said  village. 

1843.  Erected  the  Housatonic  R.  R.  station  which  was  called 
Merwinsville. 


THE  PAST  AND  PEESENT 

The  first  elm  trees  in  the  park  were  set  by  Solomon  E. 
Bostwick  in  front  of  his  residence. 

Doct.  George  Taylor  and  Albert  N.  Baldwin  appointed  a 
committee  to  purchase  a  farm  for  the  town. 
1845.    The  New  Milford  Republican,  the  first  newspaper  in  the 

village,  was  established  by  J.  K.  Averill. 
1846-50.     "  The  Housatonic  Institute  "  erected. 
1847.     Highway  laid  out  now  called  Bank  street. 

1849.  Bridgewater    and    Brookfield    Toll    Bridge    Company, 
incorporated. 

1850.  The  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  erected. 
1852.     Bank  of  Litchfield  County  organized. 

Albert  S.  Hill  erected  a  paper  mill  across  the  road  from  the 
Wells  Grist  MiU. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  J.  Stone  took  charge  of  "  The  Housatonic 
Institute." 

1854.  The  first  week  in  May  occurred  a  great  freshet  that 
carried  away  the  dam  at  Gaylordsville ;  also  the  Boardman's 
bridge  and  the  town  bridge. 

1855.  New  Milford  Brass  Band  organized,  Earl  Buckingham 
leader. 

1856.  Bridgewater  set  off  from  New  Milford  as  a  separate 
town. 

1858.     The  New  Milford  Savings  Bank  organized. 
The  Housatonic  Agricultural  Society  formed. 

1860.  The    Adelphic    Institute    established    by    Ambrose    S. 
Rogers,  A.  M. 

In  Nov.,  fire  destroyed  business  portion  on  south  side  of 
Bank  St.  and  east  side  of  R.  R.  St.,  to  the  property  now 
owned  by  Ackley,  Hatch  &  Marsh. 

1861.  The  town  voted  to  pay  for  the  support  of  the  wife,  chil- 
dren, father  or  mother  of  those  persons  who  enlisted,  such 
sums  as  the  Selectmen  deemed  necessary. 

St.  Francis  Xavier's  Church  erected. 

1862.  The  town  voted  a  bounty  of  $200  for  each  resident 
who  should  enlist,  for  a  certain  time. 

William  Wells  and  Edwin  S.  Wells,  sons  of  Philip  Wells, 


JOHN    PRIME   TREADWELL 
A    Xative   of    New    Milforcl.      Born    1815,   died   1876 


STORY  OF  NEW  MIL.FORD  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL,  EPITOME       113 

purchased  the  grist-mill  on  the  Aspetuck  River  a  mile  above 
North  ville. 

1863.  The  town  offered  $300  to  each  person  who  might  be 
drafted. 

Water  Witch  Engine  Company  organized. 

1864.  The  town  offered  a  bounty  of  $500  for  each  soldier 
accredited  to  the  town. 

The  town  authorized  the  issue  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$21,000  to  meet  war  expenses. 

1865.  Bank  of  Litchfield  County  changed  to  First  National 
Bank  of  New  Milford. 

1870.      The  Glover  Sanford  firm  removed  to  Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Ousatonic  Chapter,  No.  33,  R.  A.  M.  organized. 

1872.  The  Housatonic  Ray  (newspaper)  established. 

1873.  Kindergarten  school  established  by  Mrs.  Andrew  Bris- 
tol, Miss  Mary  C.  Wells,  assistant. 

The  New  Milford  Water  Company  chartered,  authorized 
capital  $25,000. 
1875.     Roger  Sherman  Hall  erected. 

1877.  The   Good   Shepherd's   Lodge,   No.   65,   I.    O.    O.   F., 
instituted. 

The  first  New  Milford  Savings  Bank  building  erected  on 
north  side  of  Bank  St. 

The  New  Milford  Gazette  established. 

1878.  Miss  Wells  established  kindergarten  school  in  her  home 
in  Jan. 

1882.     Upton  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  organized  Dec.  20th,  with  26 
charter  members. 

St.  John's  Church  erected. 

All  Saints  Memorial  Church  erected. 
1884.      Sunday  School  established  in  Merryall. 

1886.  Board  of  Trade  established. 

1887.  New  Milford  made  a  Shire  town. 
Iron  bridge  built  at  Boardman. 

1888.  The  great  blizzard,  March  13. 

1889.  The  New  Milford  Button  factory  burned. 

1890.  The  new  hose  house  built. 


114  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

Union  Chapel  built,  Lower  Merryall. 
1893.     Roger  Sherman  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  organized. 
1893.      Congregational  Church  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $18,300. 
The  New  Milford  Electric  Light  Company  incorporated. 
1897.     Public  Library  and  Memorial  Hall  erected  on  the  site 
of  Housatonic  Institute,  it  being  the  same  site  that  Eli  Starr 
leased  to  St.  Peter's  Lodge  No.  «1,  F.  &  A.  M.,  to  build 
lodge  on  in  1814. 

Lime  Works  at  Boardman  destroyed  by  fire. 
A  bronze  tablet  to  the  memory   of  Roger  Sherman  was 
placed  on  Roger  Sherman  Hall  by  Daughters  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution. 

1900.  Great  Fireman's  parade,  1,300  men  in  line. 

1901.  A  Town  Court  established.     George  H.  Jackson,  ap- 
pointed first  Judge. 

1902.  Great  fire  destroyed  the  business  portion  of  the  village, 
May  5. 

President  Roosevelt   stopped   at  the   station   and  made   a 
speech. 

The  Boardman  Sunday  School  Society  organized. 
Bridgeport  Wood  Finishing  Company  plant  burned. 

1903.  The  New  Milford  Power  Company  plant  established  at 
Gaylordsville. 


RECORD    OF    THE    PUBLIC    SERVICES    OF 
ROGER    SHERMAN 

AS  EEFERRED  TO  IN  THE  COLONIAL  DOCUMENTS  OF  CONNECTICUT 
CONTRIBUTED  BY  HON.  EBENEZER  J.  HILL  or  NORWALK,  CONN. 

OCTOBER,  1745,  Roger  Sherman  appointed  to  be  surveyor  for 
the  County  of  New  Haven. 

Roger  Sherman,  surveyor  for  the  County  of  New  Haven, 
appointed  in  October,  1750,  to  lay  out  lands  for  certain  parties 
from  ungranted  lands  of  the  Colony. 

May,  1751,  appointed  to  lay  out  certain  lands  for  Williams 
and  Crary. 

May,  1751,  appointed  as  one  party  to  view  and  appraise 
certain  lands  in  the  town  of  Kent. 

May,  1752,  made  Surveyor  for  Litchfield  County,  instead  of 
New  Haven. 

May,  1752,  paid  £82,  9s.  10d.,  in  full  for  his  bill  for  laying 
out  land  and  highways  on  the  west  side  of  Ousatonick  River. 
As  one  of  a  Committee  appointed  previous  October. 

October,  1753,  Roger  Sherman,  Surveyor  for  Litchfield 
County,  ordered  to  run  the  Northwest  line  of  town  of  Litchfield. 

October,  1754,  mentioned  as  the  fifth  Selectman  of  New  Mil- 
ford. 

May,  1756,  costs  of  £2,  17s.  4d.,  assessed  against  him  and 
other  proprietors  of  common  land  in  New  Milford  in  certain 
case. 

May,  1755,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Milford, 
2d. 

August,  1755,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Milford, 
2d. 

October,  1755,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Milford, 
1st. 

115 


116  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

January,  1756,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Milford, 
1st. 

February,  1756,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Mil- 
ford,  1st. 

March,  1756,  Representative  in  Assembly  for  New  Milford, 
1st. 

February,  1756,  ordered  to  eject  one  Macantire  from  certain 
public  land. 

October,  1756,  ordered  to  inspect  certain  complaints  in  re- 
gard to  land  and  report.  Report  made  May,  1757. 

May,  1755,  Appointed  Justice  of  Peace  for  Litchfield  Co. 

May,  1756,  Appointed  Justice  of  Peace  for  Litchfield  Co. 

October,  1757,  Appointed  to  make  deeds  for  certain  public 
lands. 

March,  1758,  With  others  incorporated  as  Toll  Bridge  Com- 
pany to  own  and  maintain  toll  bridge  over  Ousatonick  River  in 
New  Milford. 

May,  1758,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

October,  1758,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

February,  1759,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

March,  1759,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

May,  1759,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

October,  1759,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

March,  1760,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

May,  1760,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

October,  1760,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

March,  1761,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

May,  1761,  Representative  for  New  Milford,  1st. 

May,  1757,  1758,  1759,  1760,  and  1761,  Justice  of  Peace, 
Litchfield  County. 

October,  1760,  1761,  1762,  1763,  1764,  1765,  1766,  and 
1767,  in  Nomination  for  Governor. 

October,  1762,  Guardian  of  two  Carpenter  children  au- 
thorized to  sell  land. 

October,  1765,  Appointed  as  Committee  to  investigate  cer- 
tain legal  questions.  Report  made  October,  1766. 

October,  1764,  Representative  for  New  Haven,  1st. 


RECORD  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICES  OF  ROGER  SHERMAN       117 

May,  1765,  Representative  for  New  Haven,  1st. 

October,  1765,  Representative  for  New  Haven,  1st. 

May,  1766,  Representative  for  New  Haven,  1st. 

May,  1766  and  1767,  Chosen  Assistant. 

May,  1765,  Justice  of  Peace  for  New  Haven  County. 

October,  1765,  Justice  of  Peace  for  New  Haven  County. 

May,  1766,  Justice  of  Peace  for  New  Haven  County. 

May,  1766  and  1767,  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court;  also, 
May,  1773,  1774,  1775,  1776,  1777,  1778,  &  1779. 

May,  1768, 1769, 1770,  1771,  1772, 1773, 1774, 1775,  1776, 
1777,  1778,  1779,  Chosen  Assistant. 

Nominated  for  Governor,  1768,  1769,  1770,  1771,  1772, 
1773,  1774,  1775,  1776,  1777,  1778,  1779,  1780. 

October,  1768,  Appointed  to  make  index  of  laws. 

May,  1769,  Appointed  to  lay  out  highway  from  New  Haven 
to  Windham.  Report  accepted  May,  1770. 

May,  1771,  Appointed  to  lay  out  highway,  New  Haven  to 
East  Hadam. 

October,  1771,  Appointed  to  purchase  some  elegant  plate  to 
present  to  Richard  Jackson,  Colonial  Agent.  Afterwards 
bought  in  England  on  account  of  duty  if  bought  here. 

October,  1771,  Assessed  in  the  construction  of  addition  of 
Meeting-house. 

October,  1772,  One  of  joint  Committee  on  Collegiate 
School. 

January,  1774,  One  of  Committee  to  adjust  certain  land 
questions  near  the  Delaware  and  Susquehannah  Rivers. 

October,  1773,  One  of  Committee  to  consider  Earl  of  Dart- 
mouth's letter. 

April,  1775,  Wrote  and  offered  resolution  appointing  Com- 
mittee to  present  letter  of  Gov.  Trumbull  to  Gen.  Gage,  de- 
manding explanation  of  attack  of  19th  of  April  and  his  future 
plans. 

August  3,  1774,  Chosen  Representative  in  Congress. 

February  27,  1775,  Purchased  90  kegs  of  powder,  3,500  Ibs. 
lead,  30,500  flints  for  the  Colony. 

October,  1775,  Representative  in  Congress. 


118  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT 

October,  1776,  Committee  to  visit  Army  and  grade  the  of- 
ficers appointed  by  the  Assembly. 

May,  1777,  Named  as  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety. 

October,  1776  and  1777,  Representative  in  Congress,  1st 
man. 

July,  1777,  One  of  a  Committee  to  confer  with  Mass.,  New 
Hampshire,  R.  I.,  and  New  York  on  the  state  of  the  currency. 

January,  1778,  Committee  to  inquire  into  conduct  of  foreign 
traders  in  this  State. 

January,  1778,  Commissioner  to  New  Haven  Convention. 
Chairman  of  Committee  to  draw  report  of  Convention. 

May,  1778  and  1779,  Council  of  Safety. 

October,  1778,  Representative  in  Congress. 

January,  1780,  Representative  in  Congress. 

February,  1780,  Delegate  to  Philadelphia  Convention  to  reg- 
ulate prices. 

Representative  in  Congress  1789  and  1791.  Senator  1791 
to  1793.  Mayor  of  New  Haven. 


PART   II 
THE    BI-CENTENNIAL   EXERCISES 


HENRY   S.   MYGATT 
President   of  the   Bi-Centennial   Celebration 


INCEPTION    AND    ORGANIZATION 

CONTRIBUTED  BY  CHARLES  N.  HALL 

IN  April,  1906,  a  call  was  issued  in  the  columns  of  the  New 
Milford  Gazette,  asking  all  citizens  to  meet  at  Mygatt's  Hall, 
Bank  Street,  on  Monday  evening,  April  30,  to  consider  the 
project  of  celebrating  the  town's  two  hundredth  anniversary. 

About  forty  citizens  responded  to  the  appeal  and  met  at  the 
appointed  time  and  place. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  William  G.  Green, 
and  Mr.  Henry  S.  Mygatt  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
meeting. 

After  full  discussion  as  to  the  possibility  and  advisability  of 
such  a  celebration  as  that  implied  in  the  call,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  were  adopted: 

"  Whereas,  New  Milford  was  first  settled  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  1707,  and  has  from  a  humble  beginning  gone  steadily 
forward  in  growth  and  prosperity,  through  the  industry  and 
patriotism  of  its  sons  and  daughters,  and  the  blessings  of  a 
Divine  Providence: 

"  And  Whereas,  It  seems  fitting  that  the  two  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  this  town,  now  near  at  hand,  should  be  recognized 
and  celebrated  by  all  its  citizens  in  such  manner  as  to  confer 
proper  dignity  upon  the  occasion;  to  call  together  for  a  day 
all  its  children ;  to  honor  the  memories  of  those  who  contributed 
to  its  past  and  present  welfare ;  to  show  the  industrial,  agricul- 
tural, commercial,  educational,  and  religious  progress  of  the 
community  throughout  the  past  years ;  and  to  give  due  thanks 
to  the  Providence  that  has  watched  over  it. 

"  Therefore  it  is  Resolved :  That  during  the  year  1907,  upon 
a  date  to  be  named  at  a  future  meeting,  there  shall  be  held  a 
celebration  to  be  known  as  the  New  Milford  Bi-Centennial." 

After  further  discussion  as  to  forms  of  organization,  it  was 
voted: 

121 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  That  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  foregoing  reso- 
lution, this  meeting  shall  appoint  a  General  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  said  committee  to  have  entire  charge  of  all  ar- 
rangements pertaining  to  the  New  Milford  Bi-Centennial  Cele- 
bration ;  to  have  power  to  make  changes  in  and  additions  to  its 
own  numbers ;  to  have  authority  to  appoint  and  organize  all 
necessary  sub-committees,  and  the  power  to  direct  the  work  of 
such  sub-committees,  and  to  make  removals  and  substitutions 
in  such  sub-committees ;  and  to  take  any  and  all  measures  neces- 
sary to  carry  the  foregoing  resolution  into  effect." 

The  meeting  then  appointed  a  Nominating  Committee  con- 
sisting of  C.  M.  Beach,  W.  G.  Green,  H.  L.  Randall,  S.  S. 
Green,  G.  M.  Breinig,  and  Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare,  to  present 
to  the  meeting  the  names  of  those  who  should  constitute  the 
General  Committee  of  Arrangements. 

After  consultation,  the  Nominating  Committee  presented  a 
list  of  those  persons  who  should  constitute  the  General  Com- 
mittee, and  those  so  named  were  by  vote  declared  appointed  as 
the  General  Committee  of  Arrangements,  with  the  powers  and 
duties  above  set  forth. 

It  was  then  voted: 

"  That  when  this  meeting  adjourns,  the  chairman  of  this 
meeting  shall  have  authority  to  call,  at  his  pleasure,  a  meeting 
of  the  General  Committee  of  Arrangements." 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 

The  General  Committee  of  Arrangements  met  on  July  6, 
1906,  about  one  hundred  members  being  present.  At  this 
meeting  a  permanent  organization  was  effected,  officers  elected, 
sub-committees  appointed,  and  a  date  set  for  the  celebration. 

The  officers  elected  were: 

Permanent  Chairman  and  President,  Henry  S.  Mygatt; 
Vice-Presidents,  Andrew  G.  Barnes,  Francis  E.  Baldwin, 
Stephen  C.  Beach;  General  Secretary,  Charles  N.  Hall. 

It  was  voted: 

"  That  the  Celebration  be  held  on  Saturday,  Sunday,  Mon- 
day, and  Tuesday,  June  15,  16,  17,  18,  1907." 

It  was  voted: 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION 

"  That  Sub-Committees  be  created  as  follows : 
An  Executive  Committee, 
A  Finance  Committee, 
A  Committee  on  Exercises, 
A  Committee  on  Refreshments, 
A  Committee  on  Decoration, 
A  Committee  on  Publicity, 

A  Committee  of  Invitation,  Reception,  and  Entertainment; 
A  Committee  on  Religious  Observances, 
A  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 

A  Committee  on  Historical  Research  and  Permanent  Pub- 
lication." 

It  was  further  voted: 

"  That  each  member  of  the  General  Committee  pay  the  sum 
of  one  dollar,  and  each  member  of  a  sub-committee  the  addi- 
tional sum  of  two  dollars  to  the  Bi-Centennial  fund." 

Subsequently  the  Executive  Committee,  acting  for  the  Gen- 
eral Committee,  appointed  from  time  to  time  other  sub-com- 
mittees found  necessary  in  the  progress  of  the  work.  These 
were: 

A  Loan  Exhibit  Committee, 
A  Committee  on  Vocal  Music, 
A  Colonial  Reception  Committee. 

The  officers  and  members  of  the  General  Committee  of  Ar- 
rangements were  as  follows: 

President,  HENRY  S.  MYGATT; 
Vice  Presidents,  ANDREW  G.  BARNES,  FRANCES  E.  BALDWIN, 

STEPHEN  C.  BEACH  ; 
Secretary,  CHARLES  N.  HALL; 

Members 

John  F.  Addis.  Geo.  B.  Ackley, 

Mrs.  John  F.  Addis.  Mrs.  Geo.  B.  Ackley. 

Geo.  E.  Ackley.  Fred  Anderson, 

Mrs.  Geo.  E.  Ackley.  Mrs.  Geo.  W.  Anthony. 

W.  H.  Adams.  Mrs.  Phoebe  L.  Anderson. 

Victor  L.  Anderson.  Horace  A.  Allen, 

Emil  Anderson.  Rev.  J.  J.  Burke. 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 


Dr.  J.  C.  Barker. 
Dr.  B.  E.  Bostwick, 
Chas  M.  Beach. 
Alexander  H.  Barlow. 
W.  G.  Brown. 
Charles  P.  Bentley. 
Reuben  Booth, 
SG.  M.  Breinig. 
David  E.  Breinig. 
Henry  M.  Baldwin. 
Willis  F.  Bennett. 
Willis  G.  Barton, 
Dr.  Charles  P.  Blinn. 
Mrs.  Wm.  D.  Black, 
William  H.  Booth. 
H.  B.  Bostwick. 
Burton  B.  Booth. 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Buck. 
Mrs.  J.  A.  Bolles. 
Mrs.  Wm.  Bostwick. 
Miss  Ruth  T.  Booth. 
Frederick  L.  Bennett. 
Andrew  Buckingham. 
Mrs.  Chas.  M.  Beach, 
Mrs.  G.  M.  Breinig. 
Mrs.  A.  M.  Booth. 
Mrs.  H.  E.  Bostwick. 
Miss  C.  B.  Bennett. 
Miss  A.  E.  Bostwick. 
Miss  Helen  M.  Boardman, 
Miss  Kate  T.  Boardman. 
Miss  Grace  Buckingham. 
Miss  May  Brown, 
Miss  Adaline  L.  Buck. 
Mrs.  J.  C.  Barker. 
Mrs.  B.  E.  Bostwick. 
\rnos  H.  Bowers. 


A.  C.  Bowers. 
Andrew  M.  Booth. 
Mrs.  David  A.  Baldwin, 
Mrs.  Willis  F.  Bennett, 
Lyman  W.  Brown. 
Andrew  J.  Baldwin, 
Noble  Bennett, 
E.  Noble  Bennett, 
Mrs.  Merritt  Beach. 
Mrs.  I.  B.  Bristol. 
Mrs.  Edwin  N.  Bostwick, 
Daniel  B.  Brewer. 
Henry  Booth. 
Wiliam  E.  Bostwick. 
Rev.  T.  J.  Cronin. 
Andrew  C.  Clark. 
Mrs.  Andrew  C.  Clark. 
Daniel  H.  Canfield. 
Lawrence  C.  Camp. 
Robert  B.  Clark. 
L.  F.  Curtis. 
Mrs.  L.  F.  Curtis. 
P.  M.  Cassedy. 
John  D.  Clark. 
Alanson  N.  Canfield. 
Mrs.  Geo.  N.  Canfield. 
Mrs.  Lemira  J.  Carter. 
Howard  C.  Clark. 
Phineas  E.  Clark. 
Warren  S.  Grossman. 
John  B.  Cox. 
Chas.  B.  Camp. 
Salmon  Couch. 
A.  L.  Conkey. 
Rev.  Frank  B.  Draper. 
Dr.  J.  A.  Dolan. 
Henry  Donnelly. 


*  Deceased. 


SEYMOUR  S.  GREEN 
Chairman   Executive   Committee 


STEPHEN  C.   BEACH 
Vice-President 


HONORABLE    ANDREW    G.    BARNES 
Vice-President 


FRANCIS    E.    BALDWIN 
Vice-President 


SOME    OFFICERS    OF    THE    BI-CEXTEXXIAL    CELEBRATION 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION 


125 


Robert  L.  Duncan. 
Eben  B.  Dorwin. 
Myron  B.  Disbrowe. 
Edwin  J.  Emmons. 
Mrs.  Edwin  J.  Emmons. 
Albert  Evitts. 
Rollin  C.  Emmons. 
Chas.  H.  Evans. 
Miss  S.  C.  Erwin. 
Thomas  Fuller. 
Munson  Fairchild. 
Alban  G.  Ferriss. 
Samuel  J.  Ferriss. 
Mrs.  Albert  Ferriss. 
Henry  Ferriss. 
Miss  Minnie  A.  Ferriss. 
Miss  Jane  Fenn. 
Dr.  H.  B.  Griswold. 
Minot  S.  Giddings. 
Levi  P.  Giddings. 
Wm.  G.  Green. 
Seymour  S.  Green. 
Henry  Garvey. 
Miss  Jeanette  L.  Gaylord 
William  F.  Gaylord. 
Fred  R.  Green. 
*  Ethiel  S.  Green. 
William  B.  Green. 
George  W.  Green. 
William  Green. 
George  H.  Gaylord. 
Mrs.  James  Giddings. 
Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare. 
Rev.  Stephen  Heacock. 
J.  E.  Hungerford. 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Hungerford. 
Walter  C.  Hine. 


Mrs.  Walter  C.  Hine. 
Mrs.  Charles  N.  Hall. 
J.  Stuart  Halpine. 
Wm.  H.  Hartwell. 
Frederick  C.  Hoyt. 
Henry  D.  Hine. 
Oliver  W.  Hoyt. 
Mrs.  H.  D.  Hine. 
Mrs.  W.  B.  Hatch. 
Virgil  B.  Hatch. 
Merritt  W.  Hill. 
Mrs.  Mary  H.  Hunt. 
Edson  P.  Hill. 
Harvey  B.  Hoyt. 
Martin  L.  Hungerford. 
Arthur  B.  Hungerford. 
Sheldon  B.  Hendricks. 
Mrs.  Sheldon  B.  Hendricks. 
John  H.  Hall. 
Edward  Hendricks. 
Merwin  Hine. 
G.  W.  Hatch. 
G.  L.  Hamlin. 
Oliver  S.  Hartwell. 
Roger  T.  Hartwell. 
Robert  J.  Hungerford. 
E.  D.  Rowland. 
Minot  L.  Hartwell. 
John  T.  Hepburn. 
John  M.  Hine. 
Frederick  W.  Hartwell. 
Clark  M.  Hunt. 
Samuel  R.  Hill. 
Henry  H.  Hartwell. 
*  Albert  S.  Hill. 
Allen  S.  Hill. 
Edgar  F.  Hawley. 
*  Deceased. 


126 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 


KR  Hartwell. 
H.  C.  Ives. 

Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson. 
George  H.  Jackson. 
L.  N.  Jennings. 
Lucius  Jackson. 
Michael  A.  Kelly. 
Dr.  F.  E.  King. 
Mrs.  F.  E.  King. 
W.  F.  Kinney. 
Mrs.  W.  F.  Kinney. 
Nelson  W.  Kinney. 
Arthur  W.  Knowles. 
Henry  Kinney. 
Frederick  W.  Knowles. 
Frederick  Knapp. 
Henry  Kinney,  2d. 
Joseph  La  Hait. 
Geo.  H.  Lines. 
Walter  B.  Leavenworth. 
Carr  S.  Lyon. 
Wm.  P.  Landon. 
Frank  W.  Marsh. 
A.  H.  McMahon. 
Mrs.  A.  H.  McMahon. 
Daniel  Marsh. 
Chauncey  B.  Marsh. 
J.  B.  Merwin. 
Roland  F.  Mygatt. 
Frederick  Merwin. 
Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt. 
Miss  Grace  H.  Merwin. 
John  H.  Morehouse. 
James  E.  Mullins. 
Miss  Carrie  H.  Marsh. 
Mrs.  Margaret  Moore. 
Mrs.  Carlos  Merwin. 


M.  H.  Mallett. 
Amos  H.  Marsh. 
James  Marsh. 
Miss  Lottie  Mallett. 
Henry  W.  Murray. 
Mrs.  Henry  W.  Murray. 
E.  B.  Marsh. 
E.  O.  Marsh. 
Mrs.  E.  O.  Marsh. 
Andrew  J.  McMahon. 
Robert  C.  Mallory. 
Wm.  J.  M.  Miller. 
*  James  H.  McMahon. 
George  Newton. 
Charles  H.  Noble. 
Russell  B.  Noble. 
Miss  Ella  F.  Noble. 
Wm.  N.  Noble. 
Ithamer  F.  Northrop. 
Jasper  A.  Northrop. 
Alfred  H.  Noble. 
Mrs.  George  Northrop. 
Lawrence  Northrop. 
Charles  Northrop. 
J.  H.  Nettleton. 
Charles  H.  Osborne. 
Wilbur  H.  Osborne. 
Abram  Osborne. 
Wallace  W.  Osborne. 
Farley  Osgood. 
Robert  A.  Osborne. 
Rev.  John  F.  Plumb. 
John  Pettibone. 
Henry  H.  Pomeroy. 
Wm.  B.  Pell. 
Mrs.  Wm.  B.  Pell. 
Mrs.  Ivory  Phillips. 
*  Deceased. 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION 


127 


Mrs.  Clayson  S.  Perry. 
Charles  Planz. 
D.  W.  Pepper. 
Wm.  A.  Parcells. 
A.  W.  Peelstrom. 
John  Payne. 
Edgar  A.  Peet. 
Lewis  A.  Payne. 
Lehman  T.  Peet. 
Clinton  H.  Pomeroy. 
H.  Leroy  Randall. 
Mrs.  H.  Leroy  Randall. 
William  J.  Roberts. 
Miss  Sarah  J.  Roberts. 
Mrs.  C.  E.  Riddiford. 
Charles  Riley,  Jr. 
F.  T.  Richmond. 
Seeley  B.  Richmond. 
Mrs.  Chas.  Randall. 
Mrs.  Isaac  Reynolds. 
Wm.  L.  Richmond. 
Levi  S.  Richmond. 
Nathan  H.  Root. 
C.  E.  Riddiford. 
Orrin  Roberts. 
Rev.  H.  K.  Smith. 
Dr.  Geo.  E.  Staub. 
Verton  P.  Staub. 
*  Nicholas  Staub. 
Turney  Soule. 
Chas.  H.  Soule. 
David  E.  Soule. 
George  T.  Soule. 
Frank  E.  Soule. 
Henry  S.  Sanford. 
Everett  J.  Sturges. 
Frederick  E.  Starr. 


Mrs.  Verton  P.  Staub. 
Vincent  B.  Sterling. 
Geo.  W.  Squires. 
Miss  Caro  S.  Sanford. 
Mrs.  V.  B.  Sterling. 
Carl  F.  Schoverling. 
Henry  A.  Soule. 
Walter  D.  Soule. 
Mrs.  Catherine  Smith. 
Mrs.  C.  R.  M.  B.  Smith. 
Albert  Sterling. 
Wm.  W.  Stillson. 
Frederick  M.  Straight. 
James  S.  Sullivan. 
Israel  B.  Smith. 
Mrs.  Wm.  Schoverling. 
Lee  Stone. 
Mrs.  C.  C.  Smith. 
Miss  Harriet  V.  Sherman. 
Mrs.  Ellen  F.  Shepard. 
Mrs.  Charles  Taylor. 
Frederick  J.  Turrill. 
Arthur  G.  Todd. 
Cyrus  A.  Todd. 
Mrs.  R.  S.  Todd. 
Mrs.  Henry  R.  Treadwell. 
Mrs.  Lucy  Turrill. 
Chas.  A.  Tappen. 
Miss  Martha  Treadwell. 
John  T.  Underbill. 
Rev.  S.  D.  Woods. 
Dr.  Geo.  H.  Wright. 
F.  M.  Williams. 
Mrs.  F.  M.  Williams. 
Philip  Wells. 
Stanley  L.  Warner. 
Henry  O.  Warner. 
*  Deceased. 


128  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Wm.  D.  Wanzer.  Smith  M.  Waller. 

A.  C.  Worley.  E.  M.  Waller. 

John  E.  Wells.  Frederick  L.  Wanzer. 

Charles  A.  Way.  Edward  A.  Wildman. 

Miss  Edith  Warner.  John  F.  Williams. 

Mrs.  C.  E.  Wright.  Newton  B.  Weaver. 

Miss  Charlotte  A.  Wells.  Reuben  M.  Wilbur. 
Miss  Mary  C.  Wells. 

The  members  of  the  special  committees — appointed  by  the 
General  Committee  *  to  arrange  for  and  carry  out  the  plans 
for  the  Celebration — were: 

Executive  Committee:  Seymour  S.  Green,  chairman;  J.  B. 
Merwin,  Everett  Sturges,  Verton  P.  Staub,  Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt, 
Mrs.  C.  M.  Beach. 

Finance  Committee:  H.  Leroy  Randall,  chairman;  Charles 
H.  Noble,  treasurer;  Willis  G.  Barton,  William  G.  Green,  Tur- 
ney  Soule,  Edwin  J.  Emmons. 

Committee  on  Exercises:  Charles  M.  Beach,  chairman;  John 
H.  Morehouse,  clerk;  Willis  F.  Bennett,  Frank  E.  Soule,  D.  W. 
Pepper,  John  Pettibone,  Mrs.  Verton  P.  Staub,  Frederic  M. 
Williams,  Joseph  La  Hait,  Samuel  R.  Hill,  Chauncey  B.  Marsh, 
Miss  Helen  M.  Boardman,  Miss  Ella  F.  Noble,  and  the  select- 
men of  the  town,  ex  officio. 

The  Committee  on  Exercises  appointed  the  following  mar- 
shals for  the  Civic  and  Military  Parade,  and  the  following  sub- 
committees to  arrange  for  Colonial  features  in  the  Parade  and 
for  an  Automobile  Carnival  on  Monday,  June  17 : 

Marshals:  Samuel  R.  Hill,  chief  marshal;  David  E.  Soule, 
George  E.  Ackley,  Henry  O.  Warner. 

Committee  on  Colonial  Features :  Willis  F.  Bennett,  chair- 
man ;  Alfred  H.  Noble,  clerk ;  William  G.  Green,  Dr.  Charles  P. 
Blinn,  Chauncey  B.  Marsh,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Barker,  Miss  Helen  M. 
Boardman. 

Committee  on  Automobile  Parade :  Roland  F.  Mygatt,  chair- 

*  The  President  and  Secretary  of  the  General  Committee  were  ex  officio 
members  of  all  committees. 


H.   LEROY  RANDALL 
Finance   Committee 


W.    F.    KINNEY 
Invitation,    Reception    and    Entertainment 


FREDERICK   E.    STARR  CHARLES    P.    BENTLEY 

Music    Committee  Decoration  Committee 

CHAIRMEN  OF  SOME  BI-CEXTENNIAL  COMMITTEES 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION  129 

man;  Henry  D.  Hine,  Dr.  B.  E.  Bostwick,  Robert  Dunlap,  S. 
Woolsey  Pepper,  George  T.  Soule. 

Committee  on  Refreshments:  Miss  Adaline  L.  Buck,  chair- 
man ;  J.  Edwin  Hungerf ord,  clerk ;  H.  C.  Ives,  Vincent  B.  Ster- 
ling, Mrs.  Charles  N.  Hall,  Mrs.  Margaret  Moore,  Mrs.  A.  C. 
Clark,  James  E.  Mullins,  Wm.  L.  Richmond,  Mrs.  Walter  C. 
Hine,  George  E.  Ackley,  P.  M.  Cassedy,  Dr.  B.  E.  Bostwick, 
Emil  Anderson. 

Committee  on  Decorations :  Charles  P.  Bentley,  chairman ; 
Wm.  B.  Pell,  Dr.  Charles  P.  Blinn,  John  F.  Addis,  Geo.  T. 
Soule,  Frederick  L.  Bennett,  Henry  D.  Hine,  Mrs.  F.  E.  King, 
W.  H.  Adams,  A.  W.  Peelstrom,  Levi  P.  Giddings. 

Committee  on  Publicity:  Charles  N.  Hall,  chairman;  W.  G. 
Brown,  Dr.  Geo.  H.  Wright,  A.  C.  Worley,  David  E.  Breinig. 

Committee  on  Invitation,  Reception  and  Entertainment:  W. 
F.  Kinney,  chairman ;  Miss  Sarah  J.  Roberts,  secretary ;  Russell 
B.  Noble,  Mrs.  Frederic  M.  Williams,  Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt,  Mrs. 
Albert  H.  McMahon,  Henry  S.  Sanford,  Andrew  C.  Clark, 
Stanley  L.  Warner,  Mrs.  Isaac  Reynolds,  Alexander  H.  Bar- 
low, Andrew  J.  Baldwin,  Charles  Northrop,  Mrs.  George  B. 
Ackley,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Wright,  Miss  Caro  S.  Sanford,  Mrs.  Chas. 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Wm.  Bostwick,  Mrs.  Catherine  Smith,  Mrs.  H.  E. 
Bostwick,  Orrin  Roberts,  Mrs.  Merritt  Beach,  Alanson  N.  Can- 
field,  Albert  Evitts,  George  H.  Jackson,  Mrs.  Wm.  B.  Pell, 
Miss  A.  E.  Bostwick,  Francis  E.  Baldwin,  Oliver  S.  Hartwell, 
Mrs.  E.  O.  Marsh,  Henry  Ferriss,  Miss  Jeannette  L.  Gaylord, 
Seeley  B.  Richmond,  Mrs.  Carlos  Merwin,  J.  B.  Merwin,  Mrs. 
W.  D.  Black,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Buck,  Mrs.  Phoebe  L.  Anderson,  Mrs. 
Henry  R.  Treadwell,  Mrs.  Wm.  G.  Green,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Jackson, 
Chas.  B.  Camp,  Cyrus  A.  Todd,  and  the  selectmen  of  the  town, 
ex-officio. 

The  chairman  of  this  committee  appointed  Albert  Evitts, 
chairman  of  reception;  Henry  S.  Sanford,  chairman  of 
entertainment. 

Committee  on  Religious  Observances :  Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson, 
chairman;  Rev.  John  F.  Plumb,  Rev.  Frank  B.  Draper,  Rev. 
T.  J.  Cronin,  Rev.  J.  J.  Burke,  Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare,  Rev. 


130  THE  BI-CENTENNIAI,  EXERCISES 

Stephen  Heacock,  Rev.  H.  K.  Smith,  Rev.  S.  D.  Woods,  Rev. 
T.  J.  Lee. 

Committee  of  Public  Safety:  Henry  Donnelly,  chairman; 
Charles  Planz,  Albert  H.  McMahon,  L.  N.  Jennings,  Charles 
Reilly,  Chas.  H.  Osborne. 

Committee  on  Historical  Research  and  Permanent  Publica- 
tion :  Minot  S.  Giddings,  chairman ;  Russell  B.  Noble,  Mrs. 
Henry  E.  Bostwick,  Miss  Charlotte  B.  Bennett,  Miss  Kate  T. 
Boardman. 

Committee  on  Loan  Exhibit:  Dr.  George  H.  Wright,  chair- 
man; Wm.  B.  Pell,  C.  Andrew  Humeston,  Miss  Flora  G.  Still- 
son,  Herman  C.  Buckingham,  Mrs.  Clarissa  R.  M.  Staples, 
Miss  Jeanette  L.  Gaylord,  Miss  Mabelle  Sanford. 

Committee  on  Vocal  Music:  F.  E.  Starr,  chairman;  Prof. 
Edwin  G.  Clemence,  director ;  Henry  C.  Harris,  Mrs.  H.  S. 
Mygatt,  Rev.  H.  K.  Smith,  Mrs.  M.  W.  Hill. 

Committee  on  Colonial  Reception :  Stephen  C.  Beach,  chair- 
man ;  W.  F.  Kinney,  Wm.  G.  Green,  J.  Stuart  Halpine,  Charles 
M.  Beach,  Henry  S.  Sanford,  Roland  F.  Mygatt,  Frank  W. 
Marsh. 

All  the  committees  worked  nobly  and  in  perfect  harmony. 

Upon  the  Finance  Committee  devolved  the  responsibility  of 
raising  the  necessary  funds,  and  the  duty  was  splendidly  per- 
formed. Solicitors  were  appointed  in  each  district  of  the  town, 
and  furnished  with  books  in  which  subscriptions  were  pledged 
to  be  paid  on  or  before  April  1,  1907.  The  solicitors,  besides 
the  members  of  the  Committee,  were :  Henry  W.  Murray,  Oliver 
W.  Hoyt,  Henry  M.  Baldwin,  Nicholas  Glennon,  Nelson  W. 
Kinney,  Edgar  A.  Peet,  John  W.  Pulver,  John  T.  Underbill, 
Daniel  Marsh,  Walter  C.  Hine,  Millard  B.  Dorwin,  Charles  H. 
Evans,  Chauncey  B.  Marsh,  Henry  S.  Mygatt,  Charles  N.  Hall. 

So  successful  was  this  canvass  that  the  needed  funds  were  all 
subscribed  before  May  15.  The  result  speaks  volumes  for  the 
enterprise  and  systematic  work  of  the  Finance  Committee,  as 
well  as  for  the  generosity  and  public  spirit  of  New  Milford's 
citizens. 

The  Executive  Committee  met  frequently  to  authorize  ap- 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION  131 

propriations  and  receive  reports,  and,  in  May,  opened  an  office 
in  the  Knapp  Building  on  Bank  Street,  the  second  floor  of  that 
building  having  been  very  generously  placed  at  their  disposal 
by  Mr.  Frederic  Knapp  of  Hartford. 

Meetings  of  all  the  Chairmen  of  Committees  were  occa- 
sionally held,  and  were  found  very  useful  in  promoting  the 
work. 

The  Committee  on  Exercises  had  the  greatest  task  to  perform 
in  arranging  a  suitable  and  comprehensive  programme  of  ex- 
ercises for  the  entire  Celebration,  co-operating  as  to  Sunday's 
exercises  with  the  Committee  on  Religious  Observances.  In 
order  to  secure  full  participation  in  the  Parade,  District  Com- 
mittees were  appointed  throughout  the  town,  to  look  after 
Parade  features  in  their  respective  localities. 

These  Committees  were: 

Lower  Merryall:  F.  C.  Merwin,  H.  W.  Murray,  S.  B. 
Hendrix,  W.  D.  Stone,  John  Pepper. 

Waller :  John  T.  Underbill,"  Smith  Waller,  Thomas  Austin, 
Alexander  H.  Barlow. 

Hunt:  Nelson  W.  Kinney,  M.  W.  Beers,  Earle  Morehouse, 
Chester  Lyon. 

Long  Mountain :  Henry  M.  Baldwin,  H.  H.  Pomeroy,  Wm. 
Pomeroy. 

Gaylordsville :  Chas.  H.  Evans,  Wm.  Gaylord,  Chas.  H. 
Soule,  George  Newton,  Wm.  J.  Roberts. 

Northville:  Francis  E.  Baldwin,  A.  C.  Bowers,  E.  B.  Buck- 
ingham, Walter  C.  Hine. 

Still  River:  Percy  Collins,  Fred  P.  Chase,  Stanley  L.  Warner, 
Chas.  H.  Stevens. 

Park  Lane:  N.  H.  Root,  James  S.  Sullivan,  W.  B.  Leaven- 
worth. 

Hill  and  Plain :  Wm.  D.  Wanzer,  Arthur  E.  Knowles,  Mer- 
win P.  Hine,  Geo.  W.  Hatch. 

Second  Hill:  Robert  Duncan,  Robert  J.  Hungerford,  Mrs. 
A.  C.  Clark,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Cowan,  Mrs.  T.  Walsh,  Wm.  Hartwell, 
Millard  B.  Dorwin,  Joshep  Cowan,  Miss  Alice  Beers,  Mrs.  Wm. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  Hans  Ahlstrom. 


132  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

Upper  Merryall :  V.  B.  Hatch,  Israel  B.  Smith,  A.  H.  Squires, 
Geo.  W.  Squires,  Fred  M.  Straight. 

Pickett:  Nicholas  Glennon,  Mervin  Andrews,  Leslie  Marsh. 

Chestnut  Land:  Ivory  Phillips,  P.  E.  Clark,  Howard  C. 
Clark,  Frank  Erwin,  Fred  Anderson,  E.  F.  Hartwell,  Samuel 
Thompson. 

Aspetuck:  Daniel  Marsh,  Joseph  Hill,  E.  Noble  Bennett, 
Levi  S.  Richmond. 

Boardman:  Oliver  W.  Hoyt,  Andrew  G.  Barnes,  Sheldon 
Northrop. 

The  District  Committee  on  refreshments  were: 

Upper  Merryall :  Mrs.  Geo.  B.  Ackley,  Geo.  W.  Squires ; 
assisted  by  Mrs.  Wm.  Birkins,  Mrs.  Frederick  Squires. 

Lower  Merryall:  Mrs.  Carlos  P.  Merwin,  Mrs.  Geo.  N. 
Abbott,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Murray. 

Hunt:  Mrs.  Myron  W.  Toohey. 

Northville:  Mrs.  Walter  C.  Hine,  Miss  Elizabeth  Baldwin. 

Chestnut  Land:  Miss  May  Galvin,  Edgar  Phillips. 

Second  Hill:  Mrs.  Robert  J.  Hungerford,  Mrs.  Joseph  A. 
Cowan. 

Park  Lane:  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Bostwick,  Mrs.  Wesley  Northrop, 
Mrs.  Edward  C.  Howland. 

Boardman:  Mrs.  Oliver  W.  Hoyt,  Mrs.  Henry  W.  Kimlin; 
assisted  by  the  Christian  Endeavor  Social  Union. 

Waller:  Mrs.  Thomas  Austin,  Mrs.  Smith  M.  Waller. 

Gaylordsville :  Mrs.  Arthur  Hungerford,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Dolan. 

Long  Mountain:  Mrs.  Henry  M.  Baldwin,  Miss  Minnie 
Pomeroy. 

Aspetuck:  Mrs.  Levi  Richmond,  J.  Fred  McEwan. 

Hill  and  Plain :  Mrs.  Robert  Osborne,  Arthur  E.  Knowles. 

Lanesville:  Mrs.  Laura  Campbell,  Mrs.  Nora  Dickey,  Mrs. 
Horace  A.  Allen. 

Pickett :  Mrs.  Edward  O.  Marsh,  Mrs.  Daniel  B.  Brewer,  Miss 
Bessie  Adams. 

Center:  Mrs.  W.  C.  Beeman,  Miss  Kathleen  Duncan,  Mrs. 
Robert  S.  Todd,  Mrs.  Timothy  Heacock,  Miss  Bessie  I.  Brown, 
Mrs.  V.  B.  Sterling,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Booth,  Mrs.  P.  M.  Cassedy, 


EDWIN  G.  CLEMEXCE 
Conductor  of  the  Chorus 


MISS   ADALIXE   I..   BUCK 
Chairman   Refreshment  Committee 


CHARLES  J.  RYDER,  D.  D. 
One  of  the  Speakers 


HEXRY    DOXXELLY 

Chairman    Public    Safety    Committee 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION  138 

Mrs.  W.  M.  Keeler,  Mrs.  Albert  Sterling,  Mrs.  Emil  Anderson, 
Donald  E.  Hungerford,  Francis  Mulcahy,  Clifford  Castle, 
Mrs.  James  E.  Mullens. 

The  Committee  on  Decorations  furnished  the  town  with  a 
fine  public  flag  pole  and  flag,  to  be  used  first  at  the  opening 
exercises  of  the  Celebration.  The  committee  also  carried  out 
the  beautiful  plan  of  decoration  and  illumination  on  Main 
Street. 

The  Committee  on  Publicity  kept  the  Celebration  before  the 
public  in  many  ways.  Printed  envelopes  of  the  Bi-Centennial 
were  furnished  to  the  citizens  to  the  extent  of  several  thousand. 
One  thousand  very  attractive  cards  were  sent  throughout  the 
State,  and  frequent  items  were  published  in  all  the  newspapers 
of  the  State.  Trhis  committee  also  published  the  official  Pro- 
gramme of  the  Celebration. 

The  Committee  of  Invitation,  Reception,  and  Entertainment 
devised,  addressed,  and  sent  out  the  official  invitations ;  arranged 
for  the  official  reception  of  all  guests ;  and,  in  many  ways,  made 
all  guests  feel  truly  welcome.  This  committee  arranged  for 
Reception  Headquarters  and  a  Bureau  of  Information  in  Roger 
Sherman  Hall  during  the  Celebration. 

The  Committee  on  Religious  Observances  had  charge  of  the 
exercises  on  Sunday,  June  16,  and  arranged  so  well  that  this 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  delightful  days  of  the  Celebration. 

The  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  co-operating  with  the  select- 
men of  the  town,  provided  most  complete  arrangements  for  the 
preservation  of  order  and  the  safety  of  property  throughout 
the  days  and  nights  of  the  Celebration. 

The  work  of  the  Historical  Committee  was  difficult  and  im- 
portant in  a  high  degree,  and  the  task  of  collecting  all  the  his- 
torical facts  needed,  and  presenting  the  whole  in  attractive  and 
interesting  form,  kept  all  the  members  extremely  busy  up  to 
the  opening  of  the  Celebration.  The  committee  received  most 
practical  and  valuable  assistance  from  The  Grafton  Press  of 
New  York  City,  which  not  only  contracted  to  publish  the  book 
of  the  Bi-Centennial,  but  in  many  ways  facilitated  the  prelim- 
inary work.  This  firm  agreed  to  report,  for  the  book,  the  entire 


134  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

proceedings  of  the  four  days,  and,  to  this  end,  established  a 
representative  on  the  spot  some  days  in  advance,  to  remain 
throughout  the  Celebration.  The  reportorial  work  was  under 
his  direction. 

The  Loan  Exhibit  Committee  were  tendered  the  use  of  Grand 
Army  Hall,  through  the  kindness  of  Upton  Post,  and  began 
early  to  look  up  all  articles  of  historic  value  and  interest.  The 
amount  of  work  involved  was  very  great,  but  was  most  success- 
fully accomplished. 

The  Committee  on  Colonial  Features  made  preparations  which 
contributed  very  greatly  to  the  interest  and  success  of  the 
parade,  spending  a  great  deal  of  time  and  thought  in  represent- 
ing the  scenes  of  old  Colonial  days. 

The  Committee  on  Colonial  Reception  prepared  the  hall  and 
made  all  arrangements  for  one  of  the  most  pleasurably  antici- 
pated events  of  the  Celebration. 

The  Committee  on  Vocal  Music,  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor Edwin  G.  Clemence,  prepared  an  elaborate  musical  pro- 
gramme and  gave  abundantly  in  time  and  efforts  to  perfect  this 
most  important  portion  of  the  exercises. 

Rest  Houses  for  women  and  children  were  established  at  va- 
rious convenient  places,  in  readiness  for  the  crowds  anticipated. 

James  C.  Barker,  M.  D.,  and  T.  B.  Merrin  were  appointed  a 
Committee  of  Public  Health  and  Comfort. 

Owing  to  ill  health,  Mr.  Henry  O.  Warner  was  unable  to 
serve  as  Marshal,  and  Walter  C.  Hine  was  appointed  in  his 
stead. 

The  Marshal's  aides  appointed  for  the  Parade  were: 

FIRST  DIVISION 

Perry  Green.  Miss  Madeline  Todd. 

Noble  Booth.  Miss  Louise  Beeman. 

Charles  Pomeroy.  Miss  Parthenia  Todd. 

SECOND    DIVISION 

Dr.  C.  B.  Blackman.  George  S.  Dean. 

Spencer  Welton. 


INCEPTION  AND  ORGANIZATION  135 

THIRD  DIVISION 

Granville  Breinig,  W.  M.  Keeler. 

Clifford  A.  Trowbridge. 

FOURTH   DIVISION 

James  Marsh.  W.  C.  Beeman. 

Clifford  Marsh. 

From  January,  1907,  up  to  the  opening  day  on  June  15,  all 
the  committees  worked  arduously  and  unceasingly  to  make  the 
Bi-Centennial  a  success.  Less  opposition  and  discouragement 
were  met  than  are  usual  in  such  enterprises,  and  to  the  public- 
spirited  and  loyal  citizens  of  the  town  belongs  the  credit  of  all 
this  work,  so  triumphantly  accomplished. 


THE    OPENING    EXERCISES 

THERE  never  was  a  time  and  place,  perhaps,  in  which  a  keener 
interest  was  taken  in  the  weather  than  at  New  Milford  during 
the  days  immediately  preceding  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration. 
One  of  the  most  backward  and  inclement  springs  known  to  New 
England  history  seemed  to  have  bequeathed  all  its  inclemency 
to  the  summer  month  of  June,  and,  on  the  afternoon  of  Friday, 
June  14,  not  only  were  the  signs  few  and  feeble  that  summer 
had  come,  but  the  sky  was  extremely  threatening.  The  boldest 
prophet  did  not  venture  to  predict  fair  weather  for  the  fol- 
lowing day  with  any  approach  to  positiveness ;  and,  under  the 
besetting  dread  of  a  down-pour  which  would  ruin  the  beautiful 
Bi-Centennial  decorations  already  in  place  on  "  The  Green," 
and  interfere  sadly  with  the  Bi-Centennial  exercises  (most  of 
which  were  to  be  in  the  open  air)  New  Milford  faces  wore  an 
expression  of  anxiety  that  was  piteous  to  see.  Saturday  came 
without  rain  and  without  clouds,  however,  and,  better  still, 
brought  with  it  that  light,  luminous  haze,  which,  in  this  part 
of  the  world,  presages  a  spell  of  dry  weather — an  augury  that, 
happily,  was  to  be  fulfilled.  The  rows  of  white  pillars  with 
gilded  capitals  (typifying  the  Colonial  architecture)  and  the 
clusters  and  festoons  of  national  colors  and  navy  signal  flags 
(typifying  our  present  national  greatness),  which  constituted 
the  official  decoration  of  "  The  Green,"  assumed  new  splendor 
in  this  highly  favorable  light,  while  the  private  decorations, 
which  had  been  delayed  somewhat  by  the  fear  of  rain,  were 
brought  to  completion  so  rapidly  that,  by  noon,  the  town  was 
literally  enveloped  in  flags  and  patriotic  and  Colonial  bunting. 
Promptly  at  four  in  the  afternoon  the  Doxology  pealed 
forth  from  the  chimes  of  All  Saints'  (played  by  Prof.  Clem- 
ence)  and  was  quickly  taken  up  by  the  voices  of  the  large  con- 
course gathered  on  "  The  Green  "  about  the  band-stand,  on 

136 


II 

51 


O 


THE  OPENING  EXERCISES  137 

which  the  chairmen  of  the  Bi-Centennial  committees  were  seated. 
Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson  invoked  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the 
coming  Bi-Centennial  ceremonies  in  an  impressive  prayer,  after 
which  "  America  "  was  played  by  the  band  (Gartland's  of  Al- 
bany) and  sung  by  the  audience.  Charles  N.  Hall,  Secretary 
of  the  General  Bi-Centennial  Committee,  then  stepped  forward 
and  delivered  the  following  address  of  welcome : 
"  CITIZENS  AND  FRIENDS  : 

"  For  this  seems  the  most  comprehensive  and  fitting  title 
by  which  to  address  such  an  assemblage  as  this;  since  many 
of  you  are  citizens,  and  all  of  you  are  friends  of  New  Milford. 
Citizens  and  friends  then;  to  one  and  all;  to  those  of  you  who 
are  citizens;  to  those  of  you  who  were  New  Milford  born,  but 
have  found  other  homes ;  to  those  of  you  whose  forefathers 
were  once  New  Milford's  children;  to  each  and  every  one  of 
you,  and  to  all  guests  yet  to  come,  the  General  Committee  of 
the  Bi-Centennial,  speaking  for  this  entire  community,  extends 
a  most  heartfelt  welcome. 

"  But  our  welcome  is  tinged  with  regret ;  regret  that  these 
words  cannot  be  spoken  to-day  by  the  one  man  that  is  best  fitted 
for,  most  entitled  to,  that  honor.  Those  of  you  who  have 
worked  during  these  months  of  preparation,  and  all  who  know 
him,  will  bear  witness  that  no  man  living  has  done  more  for 
this  Celebration;  no  man  living  could  have  greeted  you  more 
gracefully  or  with  greater  sincerity  than  would  our  honored 
President,  Henry  S.  Mygatt,  were  he  present.  But  though 
not  with  us  in  person,  we  know  that  he  is  so  in  thought;  that 
his  hopes  and  best  wishes  are  with  us  to-day. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  find  words  fitting  for  an  occasion  like  this, 
for  no  occasion  like  this  has  ever  before  confronted  us. 

"  For  the  first  time  in  her  history,  New  Milford  fittingly  cele- 
brates a  birthday  anniversary.  For  the  first  time  in  her  history, 
New  Milford  has  planned  a  great  general  home-coming  of  all 
her  scattered  children.  For  the  first  time,  we  shall  see,  during 
these  four  days,  all  our  own  people  gathered  together  in  a 
common  cause:  and  it  is  not  likely  that  any  now  living  will 
ever  see  them  so  gathered  again. 


138  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  This  then  is  The  Event,  not  merely  of  the  years,  but  of 
the  centuries ;  an  event  which  must  occupy  a  place  unique  and 
unapproached  in  the  history  of  our  town;  and  words  may 
well  fail  to  express  the  sentiments  which  such  an  occasion  must 
inspire. 

"  Since  that  day  in  the  year  1707,  when  the  pioneer,  John 
Noble,  first  traversed  the  wilderness  to  this  place,  up  to  this 
day  of  June,  1907,  every  event  and  circumstance,  toil  and 
danger,  hardship  and  prosperity,  peace  and  war,  all  have  been 
but  successive  steps  leading  to  this  Celebration,  and  making  it 
possible.  And,  in  this  Celebration,  we  mark  not  this  anni- 
versary alone,  but  celebrate  as  well  all  that  has  gone  before. 

"  We  celebrate  the  founders  of  our  town ;  the  heroic  men  and 
women  who,  by  their  toil,  their  courage  and  their  faith,  not 
only  made  New  Milford,  but  helped  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of 
this  nation.  Every  event  in  this,  our  Celebration ;  this  flag- 
raising;  the  splendidly  impressive  service  of  Sunday;  the  his- 
toric addresses,  and  the  reception  of  Monday;  the  imposing 
parade  of  Tuesday;  all  were  planned,  not  only  to  afford 
pleasure  and  entertainment  for  our  guests,  and  to  glorify  the 
New  Milford  of  to-day,  but  also  to  commemorate  and  glorify 
the  past. 

"  But  while  we  celebrate  New  Milford,  past  and  present, 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  New  Milford  to  come?  Shall  not  the 
civic  pride,  and  energy,  the  patriotism,  that  have  inspired  this 
Celebration,  continue  to  be  moving  forces  toward  a  better  New 
Milford?  Shall  not  some  of  the  thousands  who  visit  us,  im- 
pressed with  the  attractions  of  our  town,  remain  and  help  us 
to  make  a  greater  New  Milford? 

"  New  Milford  has  done  wisely  and  well  to  inaugurate  this 
home  coming,  for  such  home  comings  are  vitally  essential  to 
the  right  life  and  growth  and  prosperity  of  any  community. 

"  New  Milford  is  proud  of  her  history ;  proud  of  her  position 
among  the  hills  and  towns  of  old  Litchfield  County,  in  this 
blessed  commonwealth  of  Connecticut;  proud  of  her  business 
enterprise,  of  her  schools  and  churches ;  and  proud  of  her  chil- 
dren, whom  she  welcomes  home  to-day. 


THE  OPENING  EXERCISES  139 

"  You  are  here,  not  as  chance  visitors,  or  strangers,  but  as 
members  of  one  great  family.  We  ask  you  to  be  not  only  with 
us,  but  of  us  at  this  time ;  to  become,  for  the  time  being,  citizens 
of  our  town,  and  would  be  glad  to  have  you  become  so  in  fact. 

"  New  Milf ord  and  its  Celebration  are  yours ;  be  at  home  with 
us;  survey  the  attractions  of  our  town;  visit  and  greet  old 
friends;  enjoy  the  Celebration  to  the  utmost,  and  then  if  you 
must  leave  us,  take  with  you  the  kindest  thoughts,  and  happy 
memories  of  the  Bi-Centennial." 

At  the  close  of  this  address,  the  band,  playing  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne,"  marched  to  the  south  end  of  "  The  Green  "  (the  chair- 
men of  the  committees,  the  New  Milf  ord  Cadets  under  command 
of  Capt.  Gifford  Noble,  and  the  audience  falling  in  behind) 
to  the  new,  white,  eighty-foot  flag  pole,  which  had  been  erected 
there  under  the  supervision  of  Grand  Marshal,  Samuel  R.  Hill. 
To  the  strains  of  the  "  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  Mr.  Hill,  as- 
sisted by  Lewis  W.  Mosher,  ran  a  new  flag  *  up  the  pole,  while 
the  Cadets  stood  statue-like  near  its  base.  As  the  flag  touched 
the  peak,  a  cannon  salute  was  fired  by  a  firing  squad  under  the 
direction  of  Samuel  R.  Hill,  Jr.  This  was  a  signal  for  the  play- 
ing of  "  We'll  Rally  Round  the  Flag,  Boys,"  by  the  band,  for 
the  blowing  of  factory  whistles,  and  the  ringing  of  church  bells  ; 
and,  with  this  acclaim,  the  formal  opening  of  the  New  Milford 
Bi-Centennial  Celebration  was  ended. 

*  Presented  by  Charles  P.  Bentley  of  Booth,  Bentley  &  Co. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION 

THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  in  Memorial  Hall  was  opened  to  the 
public  at  ten  o'clock  Saturday  morning,  several  hours  in  ad- 
vance of  the  formal  ceremonies  of  welcome  described  above, 
and  was  kept  open  during  the  entire  four  days  of  the  Celebra- 
tion. It  proved  an  agreeable  surprise,  not  only  to  the  guests 
of  the  town,  but  to  the  townspeople  themselves,  who  had  no 
idea  how  rich  their  homes  were  in  relics  of  the  past  until  they 
were  thus  brought  together  for  this  Bi-Centennial  occasion. 
Indeed,  it  was  pronounced  by  competent  judges  one  of  the 
most  interesting  collections  of  antiquities  ever  seen  in  the  State 
of  Connecticut.  By  its  aid,  any  person  possessed  of  the  slight- 
est imagination  could  easily  reconstruct  the  every-day  exist- 
ence (in-doors  and  out-of-doors)  of  the  ancestors,  and  could 
even  divine  the  intellectual,  moral  and  religious  ideas  and  ideals 
which  governed  them.  Besides  the  local  relics  associated  di- 
rectly with  the  New  Milford  life  of  yore,  were  a  number  of 
curiosities  from  remote  corners  of  the  globe,  which  testified 
to  the  important  role  played  by  natives  of  New  Milford 
in  earlier  times  as  merchants,  ship-owners,  travellers,  and 
missionaries. 

These  various  richly-stored  heirlooms  were  a  source  of  great 
joy  to  the  aged,  whose  observations  and  reminiscences,  as  they 
moved  about  among  the  show-cases,  were  well-nigh  as  fasci- 
nating as  the  exhibits  themselves;  and  a  means  of  instruction 
for  the  young,  to  whom  most  of  the  objects  displayed  appeared 
as  strange  as  if  they  had  been  brought  from  another  planet. 

The  finest  thing  about  this  exhibition,  however,  was  the  pub- 
lic spirit  it  exemplified.  The  committee  in  charge  met  scarcely 
a  refusal  from  the  persons  to  whom  they  applied  for  loans, 
and,  once  the  character  of  the  undertaking  was  understood, 
volunteers  came  forward  in  such  numbers  that  twice  the  space 

140 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  141 

afforded  by  the  G.  A.  R.  rooms  might  have  been  filled,  had  it 
been  available. 

Many  of  the  visitors  expressed  regret  that  so  remarkable 
a  collection  must  be  scattered  so  soon  and  a  hope  that  New 
Milford  would  one  day  see  its  way  clear  to  maintaining  a  per- 
manent exhibition  of  the  sort.  And  it  would  not  be  surprising 
if  the  ultimate  outcome  of  this  loan  exhibition  should  be  a 
museum  of  antiquities,  since  a  large  proportion  of  the  exhibitors 
would  gladly  contribute  their  treasures  to  the  common-weal, 
if  a  specially-constructed,  fire-proof  building  should  be  provided 
for  the  conservation  of  them. 

A  complete  list  of  the  exhibits  is  given  herewith : 
Henry  Kimlin : 

1.  Razor  dated  1688. 

2.  Pair  of  spectacles. 
Minot  S.  Giddings: 

3.  A  deed  to  Jonathan  Giddings  of  a  tract  of  land  on  the 

Connecticut  Reserve  of  "Ohio,  given  by  Elijah  Board- 
man,  Homer  Boardman,  David  S.  Boardman,  Stanley 
Griswold,  of  New  Milford,  Ct.,  Elijah  Wadsworth, 
Frederick  Wolcott,  Litchfield,  Ct.,  and  Zepheniah 
Briggs  of  New  Fairfield,  Ct.  Dated  1800. 

4.  Razor.     Portrait  of  Washington  engraved  on  blade. 

5.  Sampler,  Ruth  Buck,  date  1786. 

6.  Bible,  Ruth  Buck,  date  1771. 

7.  Copy  of  "  Washington's  Political  Legacy,"  1800. 

8.  Copy  of  "  Gertrude  of  Wyoming,"  date  1809. 

9.  Copy  of  "Life  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,"  by  himself, 

date  1795. 

10.  "  The  Federal  Calculator,"  1802.     Samuel  Giddings. 

11.  The  Prayer  Book,  1795.     Ebenezer  Sanford. 
Fred'k  E.  Starr : 

12.  Section  of  Pulpit  of  Meeting-house,  1754. 
Mrs.  Arthur  Caldwell: 

13.  Grandmother's  jewelry. 

14.  Pin,   1816. 

15.  Floral  comb. 


142  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

16.  Candle  tray  and  snuffer. 

17.  Fluid  lamp. 

18.  Vase. 

19.  Bowl. 
Dr.  L.  J.  Pons : 

20.  Canteen,  Civil  War. 
Lyman  Caldwell: 

21.  Collection  of  arrow  heads. 
Wm.  H.  Marsh: 

22.  Pie  platters,  that  the  extra  good   pies   of  our   grand- 

mothers were  baked  in. 

23.  Churn.     This  churn  is  probably  over  a  hundred  years  old. 

24.  A  bottle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

25.  A  bottle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

26.  A  doll's  cradle  used  fifty  years  ago. 
Fred'k  Berry: 

27.  Dress  sword  and  sash.     Presented  to  Capt.  F.  M.  Berry, 

by  Company  H,  2d  Conn.  Artillery. 
F.  A.  Johnson: 

28.  Tea  pot,  buried  in  the  War  of  1812,  with  other  valuables, 

to  prevent  its  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

29.  Rifle  shot,  picked  out  of  the  side  of  a  Confederate  forti- 

fication at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  where  they  had  been  fired  in 
by  General  Sherman's  troops. 

30.  French  lancer's  spear  head,  picked  up  on  the  battlefield 

of  Waterloo,  soon  after  the  battle. 

31.  Arrow  given  by  "Dave,"  one  of  the  party  of  Modoc 

Indians  who  killed  Gen.  Canby.      Secured  in  the  In- 
dian Territory. 

32.  Strip  of  Confederate  flag,  which  was  lowered  from  the 

Capitol  at  Richmond  at  the  surrender,  when  the  city 
was   captured.      Confederate  money   from  Gen.   Lee's 
treasure  chest.     Captured  at  Appomattox. 
L.  T.  Peet: 

33.  Trencher  and  knife,  used  before  the  Revolution. 

34.  Candle-stick,  used  by  Alba  Peet  150  years  ago,  he  being 

a  shoemaker  and  working  evenings. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  143 

35.  Rock-salt  pounder,  used  by  my  grandfather,  Samuel  W. 

Peet. 
Henry  E.  Squires : 

36.  Green  and  white  coverlet.   Wool  raised,  spun,  and  woven 

in  Merryall. 

37.  Plaid   blanket.  Wool   raised,   spun,   and   woven    in  Mer- 

ryall. 
Mrs.  F.  A.  Mallory: 

38.  Flowered  coverlet. 
Mrs.  G.  B.  Ackley: 

39.  Pair  of  silver  candle-sticks,  candle  snuffers  and  tray. 
G.  B.  Ackley: 

40.  Book,  1809,  specimen  of  penmanship. 
Mrs.  G.  B.  Ackley: 

41.  Bible,  1806.     Almanacs,  1803  to  1814. 
L.  E.  Peet: 

42.  Water  Yoke.     Over  100  years  old. 
James  H.  Cole: 

43.  Collection  of  papers.     Deed  and  other  papers. 
Mrs.  E.  J.  Sturges: 

44.  Discharge  paper. 

45.  Old  paper,  1754. 
Lottie  A.  Waldron : 

46.  Sugar-bowl. 

47.  Pair  of  glass   candle-sticks. 
May  G.  Brown: 

48.  Portraits  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Holman,  painted  in 

Boston  in  1819  by  Prof.  Morse,  (inventor  of  the  tele- 
graph) just  before  they  sailed  as  members  of  the  first 
band  of  missionaries  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  They 
were  great  grandparents  of  May  G.  Brown. 

49.  Journal  of  Mrs.  Thomas  Holman,  one  of  the  first  mis- 

sionaries to  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  1819.  Written 
on  board  the  brig  Thaddeus.  Mrs.  Holman's  daugh- 
ter was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  Mrs.  Holman  was  the  first  woman  to  go 
around  the  world.  (See  Nos.  50  &  114.) 


144  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

50.  Feather  cape  and  wreath,  red,  yellow  and  black,  worn  by 

the  native  chiefs  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Made  from 
thousands  of  feathers  of  a  rare  bird,  but  one  feather 
suitable  being  found  on  each.  These  articles  were 
given  by  Kamahameha  I.  to  the  Holmans  (mission- 
aries). They  are  no  longer  made  and  there  are  few, 
if  any,  like  them  now  in  existence.  They  are,  there- 
fore, of  great  value.  (See  Nos.  49  &  114.) 
Ruth  T.  Booth: 

51.  Casters,  over  100  years  old. 

52.  Coffee  pot,  over  100  years  old. 

53.  Platter,  over  100  years  old. 

54.  Plate,  over  100  years  old. 

55.  Cup  and  saucer,  over  100  years  old. 

56.  Tea  set,  11  pieces,  125  years  old,  formerly  owned  by 

my  great-grandmother,  Ruth  T.  Downes. 
Harriet  V.  Sherman: 

57.  Sampler. 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Stone: 

58.  Spectacles  and  goggles.     Arrow  head  and  bayonet. 
D.  C.  Kilborne: 

59.  Lottery  tickets.     Sold  by  the  first  Cong'l  Church  Society 

of  Bridgewater  to  raise  money  to  build  the  church 
edifice. 
Mrs.  S.  D.  Woods: 

60.  Daily  paper  with  the  account  of  the  funeral  of  George 

Washington.     1799. 
Dr.  L.  J.  Pons: 

61.  Rapier,  used  by  Capt.  Eli  Booth,  (1800)  Milford,  Ct. 

62.  Revolutionary  sword. 

63.  Lantern   from   two-wheeled  physician's    chaise,   used  by 

Dr.  Myron  Downs,  1830-1860. 

64.  Bayonet  and  sheath,  1812. 

65.  Old  English  dagger.     About  1790. 

66.  Lantern. 

67.  First  glass  lantern.     About  1840. 

68.  Dragoon's  helmet,  1775.     Bearskin  bush. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  145 

69.  Dragoon's  flint  lock  pistol.     1775. 

70.  Old  English  pistol. 
Mrs.  George  Trieschmann : 

71.  Lutheran  Bible,  1784. 
Mrs.  Chas.  M.  Beach: 

72.  Tea  caddy.     This  was  made  at  Read's  Pottery  in  Lower 

Merryall,  about  the  year  1780.  It  was  part  of  a  tea 
set  which  Mercy  Sperry  (who  married  Sylvester 
Wheaton)  had  when  she  went  to  housekeeping. 

73.  Invitations  to  assembly  balls,  one  hundred  years  ago. 

74.  Grape   shot,  picked  up  on  the  battlefield  of  Waterloo, 

about  the  year  1820,  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  S.  Wheaton, 
D.  D. 

75.  Half -cent,  American  coin,  100  years  old. 

76.  Brazilian  dump,  coin  worth  about  2^  cents. 

77.  Powder  horn  taken  from  the  dead  body  of  an  Indian  by 

Capt.  Theophilus  Baldwin,  a  volunteer  in  the  French 
and  Indian  Wars,  while  Baldwin  was  on  a  scouting 
party.      The  Indian   shot  at  him   from  ambush,   and 
missed.     Theophilus  did  not  miss. 
Mrs.  H.  H.  Hartwell: 

78.  Flint  lock  gun.     Carried  through  Revolution. 

79.  Gun.     Carried  by  a  French  officer  in  the  Revolutionary 

War.  Afterwards  changed  from  a  flint  lock  to  a 
percussion  lock. 

80.  Cartridge   belt    and   cartridges,   used   in   Revolutionary 

War. 

81.  Autegraph  bond  of  Roger  Sherman. 

82.  Brigade  orders,  Gen.  Sedgwick. 

83.  Two  commissions,  Joseph  Hartwell.    As  ensign.     As  lieu- 

tenant. 
Geo.  N.  Canfield: 

84.  Cane,  made  from  the  hull  of  Old  Ironsides.     Inscription 

on  head :  "  From  the  hull  of  the  Constitution,  first 
built  in  1798,  and  dear  to  Americans  for  having  suc- 
cessfully fought  the  Java,  Guerrierre,  Cyane,  and 
Levant,  the  bombardment  of  Tripoli  in  1812,  and  also 


146  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

for  her  miraculous  escape  from  the  British  Squadron. 
Presented  to  R.  E.  Canfield  by  S.  Oaks,  Esq.,  U.  S.  N." 
Dr.  G.  Bragaw: 

85.  Flint  lock  gun  with  bayonet. 
Edward  H.  Beach: 

86-  Indian  battle  axe. 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Austin : 

87.  War  club,   Sandwich   Islands.      Made   from   root   of  a 

tree. 

88.  Quilt,  hand  spun  and  woven. 
Mrs-  Hannah  Fuller  Austin : 

89.  Commission    of    Abraham    Fuller.      He    was    afterward 

Captain  of  Connecticut  troops,  most  of  his  men  being 
from  Kent. 
E.  H.  Austin: 

90.  Pewter  flagon.    Supposed  to  be  150  years  old.    Belonged 

to  Mills  family  of  Kent.  Authentic  record  of  age 
for  more  than  100  years.  It  was  an  old  flagon  when 
this  record  began. 

91.  English   army   belt   clasps.     Picked   up   on   the   field   of 

Waterloo  a  few  days  after  the  battle.     Forty-second 
Somerset. 
Mrs.  Thomas  Austin: 

92.  Britannia  tea  pot.     More  than  100  years  old. 
A.  H.  Barlow: 

93.  An  old  deed,  given  to  William  Barnes  of  Haddam,  by 

Samuel  Barnes  in  1734.  Also  some  of  the  Continental 
money. 

94.  Daguerreotype,  Gaylord's  Bridge. 
Mrs.  A.  H.  Barlow: 

95.  Embroidered  apron,  65  years  old. 

96.  Collection  of  handkerchiefs  and  chemisette,  over  65  years 

old. 

97.  Lace  bonnet,  worn  in  1868. 

98.  Stockings   knit  by   Mrs.   Joseph   Marsh   for  her   eldest 

daughter,  Mrs.  Laura  Bailey,  and  worn  by  each  of 
her  six  children. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  147 

A.  H.  Barlow: 

99.  One  spoon  of  a  set  given  to  the  grandmother  of  A.  H. 

Barlow  as  part  of  her  "  setting  out."     Made  of  silver 
dollars  in  1799. 
Mrs.  A.  H.  Barlow: 

100.  Spoon,  1830. 

101.  Old  jewelry,  2  lockets  and  3  pins.    Tortoise  shell  combs. 

102.  Three  old  lace  veils. 
Mrs.  Edward  Dakin: 

103.  Tea  canister.     Belonged  to  my  great-grandmother,  and 

used  by  her  during  her  lifetime.     Purchased  in  the 
year  1770. 
Marion  D.  Underbill: 

104.  Netted  lace,  made  from  flax,  raised  by  my  great-great- 

grandfather on  Kent  Mountain;  spun  by  my  great- 
great-grandmother;  and  netted  by   my  great-great- 
aunt,  over  eighty  years  ago. 
Miss  E.  A.  Bailey: 

105.  Cane,  brought  from  England.     Has  been  in  the  Bailey 

family  for  209  years. 
Mrs.  A.  B.  Giddings: 

106.  Tea  pot,  brought  to  New  Milford  in  1707  by  Zachariah 

Ferriss.     Was  the  only  tea  pot  in  town. 

107.  Toddy   tumbler   and   vinegar   cruet,   one   hundred   and 

fifty  years  old. 
Harriet  A.  Taylor  Lee: 

108.  Coat  worn  by  Wm.  Taylor  as  Colonel  of  Militia,  1789. 

109.  Colonel  Wm.  Taylor's  duelling  pistols,  1789. 
Mrs.  Chas.  Taylor: 

110.  Pewter  porringer,  200  years  old. 

111.  Dr.  George  Taylor's  wedding  hat,  1825.    (See  No.  255.) 

112.  Pewter  candle-stick,  very  old. 
Bessie  I.  Brown : 

113.  Chinese  chest,  very  old. 

114.  Calabash,  very  old.    Used  for  carrying  water.     (Wicker 

work    encloses    a    gourd.)       This    calabash    and    the 
Chinese  chest  were  presents   received   in    1852   from 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

China  by  the  Holmans,  missionaries  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.     (See  Nos.  49  &  50.) 
Chas.  N.  Hall: 

115.  New  England  Courant,  1723.     Published  by  Benjamin 

Franklin. 
Elsie  Cummings: 

116.  Basket,  used  in  Miss  Cummings'  family  125  years  ago. 
Mrs.  Eli  Clark : 

117.  Ink  stand  and  sand  well.     Has  been  in  my  family  for 

125  years. 
Mrs.  P.  E.  Clark: 

118.  Hair  brush,  made  by  my  grandmother,  Lucinda  Young, 

when  a  girl  12  years  old,  96  years  ago. 

119.  A  history,  108  years  old,  previously  owned  by  Dr.  Silas 

Castle  of  Roxbury,  Conn.,  my  great-grandfather. 

120.  Iron  mortar  and  pestle. 

121.  Wooden  water  bottle. 
Elsie  Cummings: 

122.  Foot  stove. 
Mrs.  P.  E.  Clark: 

123.  Barrel. 
Mrs.  Eli  Clark: 

124.  Warming  pan. 
Mrs.  Carlos  Merwin: 

125.  Plate,  Spanish  bull  fight,  1795. 

126-  Brittania  tea  pot,  75  years  old,  "  Muskmelon  "  pattern. 
Fred  C.  Merwin: 

127.  Constitution   of  Union  Library,  New   Milford,   1796, 

the  first  in  town.     Sec.  Elisha  Bostwick,  ancestor  of 
owner. 
Mrs.  Carlos  Merwin : 

128.  Bead  bag,  72  years  old,  hand  made. 

129.  Sampler,  76  years  old. 

130.  Knapsack. 

131.  Bell  that  rang  the  "Minute  Men"  in,  used  by  David 

Merwin  in  Merry  all. 

132.  Musket. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  149 

133.  Plate,  75  years  old. 
Mrs.  A.  G.  Barnes: 

134.  Sugar-bowl,  200  years  old. 

135.  Cup  and  saucer,  150  years  old. 

136.  Cup  and  saucer,  75  years  old. 
Mrs.  C.  T.  Staples: 

137.  Seal  of  Wm.  Penn,  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  public  and 

private  seal. 

138.  London  Post,  (1738). 

139.  Play  bills. 

140.  Doll,  50  years  old. 
F.  E.  Baldwin: 

141.  Punch  tumbler,  from  Isaac  Stone  Tavern,  Park  Lane. 

142.  Ancient  lantern. 

143.  Powder  horn,  taken  by  Hezekiah  Baldwin  from  body 

of  Indian  shot  by  him  near  Lake  George  in  French 
and  Indian  War,  about  1756. 

144.  Pitch  pipe,  used  by  Jeremiah   Baldwin  in   giving  the 

key  to  choir  of  Congregational  Church,  New  Milford. 
F.  E.  Baldwin: 

145.  Grain  fan,  fanning-mill  of  "  Ye  Olden  Time." 

146.  Foot  stove. 

147.  Warming  pan. 

148.  Candle  mould. 
Frank  H.  Beach: 

149.  Crepe  cloth  flowers   (framed). 
Mrs.  Wm.  E.  Stone: 

150.  Masonic  apron. 
Flora  G.  Stillson : 

151.  "  New  England  Primer,"  150  years  old. 
Henry  Harmon  Noble: 

152.  Two   discourses   delivered   at   New   Milford,   December 

14,   1800,  by   Rev.    Stanley   Griswold,   it  being  the 
Sabbath   next   after  the  decease   of  Rev.   Nathaniel 
Taylor. 
Homer  Wanzer: 

153.  Receipts   (from  1796  to  1800). 


150  THE  BI-CENTENNIAI,  EXERCISES 

Mary  Bostwick  Kelly: 

154.  Silver  sugar  tongs  and  six  tablespoons.     Sixteen  tea- 

spoons  which  belonged  to   Elisha   and  Betty   Bost- 
wick ;  over  100  years  old. 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Black: 

155.  Portrait,  Sally  Northrop.     Born  June,  1776;  died  De- 

cember, 1876. 
Miss  J.  L.  Gaylord: 

156.  Hand-made  counterpane. 
Mary  Bostwick  Kelly: 

157.  Portrait,  Col.  Elisha  Bostwick,  born  Dec.  17,  1748. 

158.  Portrait,  Betty  Ferris  Bostwick,  born  in  1768. 

159.  Portrait,  Jared  Bostwick,  born  May  24,  1787. 

160.  Portrait,  Betsy  Ann  Bostwick,  born  July  11,  1792. 

161.  Picture,  "The  Old  Bostwick  Homestead."     Has  been 

in  the  family  for  200  years. 

162.  Framed   contract   for  house   (1780).      Cap  and  mitts 

worn  by  Elisha  Bostwick,  when  he  was  baptized,  in  the 
year  1749. 

163.  Watch.      Bull's-eye  watch,   carried  by   Colonel  Elisha 

Bostwick  through  the  Revolution. 

164.  Watch  carried  by  Jared  Bostwick.    Over  100  years  old. 
Fred  C.  Merwin: 

165.  Indian  hatchet  and  arrow-head,  found  on  the  farm  of 

the  late  David  Merwin,  a  "  Minute  Man." 
Mary  Bostwick  Kelly: 

166.  Shawl,  Betty  Ferris  Bostwick;  125  years. 

167.  Jackknife. 
Mabel  Marsh: 

168.  Ancient  tea  pot.    Was  brought  over  from  Ireland  about 

100  years  ago.     At  one  time  owned  by  Mrs.  Mabel 
Baldwin. 
Mrs.  George  Marsh: 

169.  Old-fashioned  shade  glasses.     Worn  by  Col.  Adolphus 

Hallock  nearly  100  years  ago,  when  driving  cattle, 
travelling  on  foot  and  horseback  from  Ohio  to  New 
Milford. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  151 

Dr.  B.  E.  Bostwick: 

170.  Old  wiU  and  inventory,  1739. 

171.  Deed,  1720. 

172.  Certificate,  survey  by  Roger  Sherman,  1748. 
J.  B.  Merwin: 

173.  Pine-tree  shillings,  1652. 

174.  Hour-glass,  used  in  the  Revolution. 

175.  Six  books,  1753,  1771,  1784,  1800,  and  1805.     New 

England ,  Primer. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wells : 

176.  Bandanna  handkerchief,  owned  by  John  Turrill,  a  sol- 

dier of  the  Revolution. 

177.  Parchment    and    bobbins,    used    by    Roger    Sherman's 

mother  in  lace-making. 
Miss  Catherine  Wells: 

178.  Continental  money. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wells : 

179.  Linen  apron,  100  years  old. 
Miss  Catherine  Wells: 

180.  Paper  dolls,  40  years  old. 

181.  Linen  skirt,  46  years  old,  hand-made. 
Mrs.  John  D.  Clark: 

182.  Candle  stand,  100  years  old. 

183.  Two  sets  silver  spoons,  one  set  125  years  old,  the  other 

set  100  years  old. 

184.  After-dinner  coffee  cup,  125  years  old. 

185.  Sugar-bowl  with  lid,  125  years  old.     Sugar-bowl  with- 

out lid,  100  years  old. 

186.  Work  basket,  over  100  years  old. 

187.  Deed  of  land  in  New  Milford,  117  years  old.     Deed  of 

land  on  Long  Mountain,   172  years   old.     Equation 
table,  showing  how  much  a  clock  should  be  faster  or 
slower  than  a  sun-dial,  or  the  sun  on  the  meridian. 
George  Thatcher: 

188.  Two  knives   and   a   fork.      George   Thatcher's   grand- 

father, Michel  Gould,  used  these  140  years  ago. 

189.  Pocketbook,  1790. 


152  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Mrs.  Chas.  Taylor: 

190.  Fireplace    griddle;    fireplace    waffle    iron;    skillet    for 

baking  hoe  cake  (coals  put  underneath  and  on  top)  ; 
fireplace  gridiron ;  fireplace  chop  broiler ;  fireplace 
toaster;  fireplace  baking-kitchen;  fireplace  iron 
fork ;  fireplace  frying-pan ;  fireplace  roasting- 
kitchen,  100  years  old.  These  and  the  other  fire- 
place fittings  were  so  grouped  as  to  form  a  most 
realistic  picture  of  the  fireplace  of  ye  olden  time. 

191.  Old  foot  stove. 
E.  J.  Sturges: 

192.  Rapier,   carried  by   Ebenezer  Perry,   of   Col.   Andrew 

Burr's  regiment,  of  Fairfield,  at  the  fall  of  Louis- 
burg,  June  17,  1745. 

193.  Portrait,  Mrs.  Mary  Sturges,  who  witnessed  the  burn- 

ing of  her  home  in  Fairfield,  by  the  British,  July 
9,  1779. 
Minot  S.  Giddings: 

194.  Silver  spoon.     A  spoon  or  a  set  of  spoons,  made  from 

silver    dollars,   was    presented   by   Mary    (Baldwin) 
Giddings  to  each  of  her  children,  with  her  initials 
engraved  on  them.      Jonathan   Giddings   and  Mary 
Baldwin  were  married  Jan.  2,  1766. 
W.  O.  Corning: 

195.  Bassoon,  over  100  years  old. 

196.  Serpent,  over  100  years  old. 
Mrs.  Salmon  Couch: 

197.  Flannel  dress  goods,  1844,  colored  and  woven  by  Mrs. 

Sarah  Peet  and  Mrs.  Goodsell. 

198.  Tin-baker,  over  100  years  old. 
Mrs.  F.  M.  Williams: 

199.  Pewter  tankard,  100  years  old. 

200.  Child's  linen  skirt,  over  100  years  old. 

201.  Connecticut    Courant,    1799,    containing    account    of 

death  of  George  Washington. 
Mrs.  Dan.  Clark: 

202.  Hand-made  wedding  veil  (100  years). 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  153 

Mrs.  T.  T.  Marsh: 

203.  Portrait,  Dr.  Jehiel  Williams,  one  of  the  first  doctors 

of   New   Milford    (1815),    and   grandfather   of   the 
late   T.   T.   Marsh   and   of  Edward  W.   Marsh   of 
Bridgeport,  Ct. 
Mrs.  Chas.  Taylor: 

204.  Early  Colonial  pewter  basin. 

205.  Early  Colonial  pewter  tea  set. 

206.  Pewter  platters. 

207.  Pewter  platters. 

208.  Fluid  lamp,  one  of  the  first  sperm-oil  lanterns,  carried 

by  Dr.  Geo.  Taylor. 
Flora  Geer  Stillson: 

209.  White  satin  wedding  slippers  and  sash.     Rachel  Ann 

Bostwick  and  John  Stillson,  married  in  June, 
1774.  These  articles  loaned  by  their  great-grand- 
daughter. 

210.  Crepe  shawl,  figured  with  nasturtiums,  worn  by  Mrs. 

John  Stillson  on  trip  of  the  first  train  run  on  the 
Housatonic  Railroad,  1840.  Loaned  by  her  grand- 
daughter. 

211.  Bead  bag  on  linen,  worked  by  Loretta  Geer  in  1823, 

when  she  was  ten  years  old.  Loaned  by  her  grand- 
daughter. 

212.  Bead   bag,   worn   by   Mrs.    John    Stillson.      About   75 

years  old. 

213.  Sampler  worked  by  Almira  Turrill  in  1824.     Loaned 

by  her  grandniece. 
L.  T.  Peet: 

214.  Sickle,  used  for  cutting  grain,  125  years  old. 

215.  Toby  jug,  made  in  Jersey  City  pottery,  60  years  ago. 
Miss  Helen  M.  Boardman: 

216.  Miniature  of  Major  Lawrence,  of  the  British  Army, 

a  nephew  of  Mrs.  Wm.  Taylor  of  this  town. 
Miss  Kate  T.  Boardman: 

217.  Locket,    owned   by   Mrs.    Wm.    Taylor.      She  was   the 

daughter  of  the  second  minister  of  this  town. 


154  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

The  Misses  Boardman: 

218.  Candle-sticks,  brought  from  Warwick,  England,  and 

used  in  the  days  of  Queen  Anne. 

219.  Japanese    tray    and    cups,    brought    from    Japan    in 

1854  by  Frederic  A.  Boardman,  who  was  in  Com- 
modore Perry's  expedition  to  that  country. 

220.  Bas-relief   of   George   Washington,   owned   by   Judge 

David  Sherman  Boardman  in  1820. 
Miss  Rose  Murdoch: 

221.  Decanter   and   glasses,   presented   by   the   Marquis    de 

Lafayette  to  David  C.  Porter,  in  Paris,  in  the  year 
1825. 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Smith: 

222.  Chair,  150  years  old. 
Peter  Peterson: 

223.  Pitcher. 

224.  Bottle. 

225.  Two  pictures  and  silver  spoons  made  in  1600. 

226.  Brass  scenes,  brought  from  Denmark. 
Harriet  A.  Taylor  Lee: 

227.  Stamp,   Greek   word,   meaning  "  Quit  yourself   like   a 

man."     Belonged  to  Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor,  1748. 

228.  Baby  stocking  of  Harriet  D.  Allen  (1806),  afterwards 

Mrs.  George  Taylor. 
Mrs.  C.  N.  Hall: 

229.  Picture,  old  Canfield  Homestead,  150  years. 
Mrs.  Mary  D.  Bostwick: 

230.  Bible,  Thomas  Wells,  100  years. 
Mrs.  H.  R.  Treadwell : 

231.  Box  made  of  a  fragment  of  the  old  ship  "  Constitu- 

tion." 

232.  Sampler   worked   by   Ruth   Taylor,   afterwards   Mrs. 

Elijah  Downes.     Loaned  by  her  granddaughter. 

233.  Autograph  of  John  Hancock. 

234.  Cut  from  a  bill  of  fare  of  a  banquet  given  to  Henry 

Clay,  printed  on  satin.     His  autograph  added. 

235.  Seal  of  completion  of  Erie  Canal,  1825. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  155 

Mrs.  H.  R.  Treadwell: 

236.  Portrait  of  Roger  Sherman. 
Charles  B.  Camp: 

237.  Silver  pipe,  smoked  during  Revolutionary  War.    Over 

100  years  old. 

238.  Bible,  published  in  1639. 
Mrs.  Chas.  B.  Camp: 

239.  Patch  box,  from  estate  of  Alex.  Rosseguie,  a  Huguenot 

of    France.      Loaned     by     his     great-great-grand- 
daughter.    (See  No.  287.) 

240.  Towel,  200  years  old.     From  estate  of  Alex.  Resse- 

guie. 

241.  Candle-stick,  from  estate  of  Alex.  Rosseguie. 
Charles  B.  Camp: 

242.  Fife,    used    in    Revolutionary    War    by    John    Camp. 

Loaned  by  his  grandson. 
Jay  Cogshall: 

243.  Silver  spoon,  1787. 

244.  Spoon  mould  and  spoon,  200  years  old. 
The  Misses  Wells : 

245.  Samplers   worked   by   Mary   G.    Sherman,   afterwards 

Mrs.  Stephen  Wells. 
L.  N.  Jennings: 

246.  Piece  of  gun  picked  up  on  battlefield  of  Antietam  a 

few  days  after  the  battle. 
Mrs.  Eli  S.  Roberts : 

247.  Cup  and  saucer  formerly  owned  by  Mrs.  Eunice  Clark 

Morris.     Over  100  years  old. 

248.  Mrs.   Cornelia  Morris  Young's  baby  shoes,  86  years 

old. 
Mr.  E.  P.  Hill: 

249.  Basin,  platter,  and  plate,  used  by  Capt.  James  Buck, 

who  was  married  to  Roger  Sherman's  sister. 

250.  Documents :     Raising   recruits    for   Continental   Army. 

Tax  List,  1781. 
Elizabeth  H.  Noble: 

251.  "  Old   London   Penny   Postman."      Accurate   portrait 


156  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

brought  from  England  by  Mrs.  Henrietta  JBurritt 
about  1800.  Loaned  by  her  great-granddaughter. 

252.  "Wife  of  Old  London  Penny  Postman."     Portrait. 
Mrs.  Helen  B.  Carr: 

253.  Portrait.  Mrs.  Susan  Masters  Blackman,  granddaugh- 

ter of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor. 

254.  Picture,  "  Old  Masters  House." 
Mrs.  T.  E.  Stewart: 

255.  Trousers.     Dr.  Geo.  Taylor's,  worn  when  he  was  two 

years  of  age,  and  first  calico  brought  to  New  Mil- 
ford  (1804).  The  man  who  wore  the  hat  (No.  Ill) 
wore  the  trousers  twenty-one  years  earlier. 

256.  Baby's  dress.     Embroidered  by  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Tay- 

lor for  her  son,  Dr.  Geo.  Taylor,  in  1802. 

257.  Slippers,  worn  by  Dr.  Geo.  Taylor. 

258.  Collar,  made  by  Harriet  Allen   (afterward  Mrs.  Geo. 

Taylor)  while  attending  the  Moravian  School. 
Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt: 

259.  Portrait,  Colonel  Samuel  Canfield,  of  the  Revolution- 

ary Army. 

260.  Wood  from  Roger  Sherman's  house. 

261.  Old  English  pewter  cup. 

262.  Whale  oil  lamps,  from  Stonington,  Conn.     Over  100 

years  old. 

263.  Fluid  lamp. 

264.  Silver  tea  set,  belonged  to  Tamar  Boardman  Taylor, 

daughter  of  Rev.  Daniel  Boardman,  and  wife  of 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor. 

265.  Silver  spoons,  used  by  Noadiah  and  Clarissa  Mygatt. 

266.  Silver  spoon,  marked  T.  M.  (T.  Mygatt). 

267.  Pewter  dish,  French  pewter,  dated  1777. 

268.  Old  pewter  lamp. 
D.  K.  Crofut: 

269.  Quilt,  warming  pan,  and  ancient  hoe. 

270.  Flint  lock  musket. 
May  G.  Brown: 

271.  "Tapa"    cloth,   made    from   bark   by   natives    of   the 

Sandwich  Islands. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  157 

Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt: 

272.  Cane.     Belonged  to  Philo  Canfield,  son  of  Col.  Samuel 

Canfield. 
Roger  Sherman  Chapter,  D.  A.  R. : 

273.  Warming  pan. 

274.  Foot  stove,  used  in  the  Congregational  Church,  New 

Milford,  1812. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Wright: 

275.  Picture  of  New  Milford. 
A.  E.  Taylor: 

276.  Piano,  age  unknown. 
Lehman  T.  Peet: 

277.  Indian  work  basket,  made  by  Rachel  Mauwehu,  a  squaw 

of  the  Schaghticoke  tribe,  about  1847. 

278.  Thread  stand,  about  125  years  old. 
Congregational  Church : 

279.  Chair,    belonging   to   Rev.    Nathaniel    Taylor,    second 

pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  from  1748  to 
1800. 
Mrs.  B.  F.  Humeston: 

280.  Fireplace  cooker.     Used  in   1775. 

281.  Cuff  buttons,  made  in   1797  from  ore  found  in  Rox- 

bury. 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Bristol: 

282.  Pitcher,  Staffordshire,  175  years  old. 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Bristol: 

283.  Silhouette,   90  years   old.     William  Bristol,  father  of 

Isaac  B.  Bristol. 

284.  Miniature,  80  years  old,  Heman  Crane. 

285.  Cake  basket,  100  years  old. 
Mrs.  H.  R.  Treadwell: 

286.  Massachusetts   Gazette   and   Boston   News   Letter   of 

1775. 

287.  Patch  box,  as  used  by  fashionable  ladies  of  the  17th 

and  18th  centuries,  to  contain  black  patches,  cut  in 
various  shapes  and  sizes,  to  stick  on  the  face,  sup- 
posedly to  heighten  the  brilliancy  of  the  complexion 
by  contrast. 


158  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Bessie  Kennedy: 

288.  Shears,  hand  wrought,  date  unknown. 
Annie  Kennedy: 

289.  Ink  well,  hollowed  out  of  a  solid  piece  of  soapstone. 
E.  Kennedy: 

290.  Skillet. 
Jeannette  L.  Gay  lord: 

291.  Old  Honiton  and  point  lace. 

292.  Old  embroideries. 

293.  Portraits,    Mr.    and    Mrs.    Ebenezer    Gaylord,    about 

1798. 

294.  Shell  cameo.     Portrait  of  owner's  uncle,  W.  L.  Jewitt, 

1840. 

295.  Old  rum  bottles  and  liquor  jug,  the  latter  being  used 

in  olden  times  to  carry  to  the  hayfields. 

296.  Indian  needle-case  and  horn  spoons. 
W.  F.  Gaylord: 

297.  Three  Indian  implements. 
Mrs.  Theodore  Carlson: 

298.  Swedish  bracelet.   Wood  and  iron  watch  chain,  Swedish. 
Jeannette  L.  Gaylord: 

299.  Lace  evening  cloak.     1850. 
Mrs.  Henry  Hine: 

300.  Articles  from  Martinique:  Lava;  tile  from  old  cathe- 

dral; goblets  which  went  through  fire;  pictures  of 
Martinique  after  the  eruption. 

301.  Pottery  vase  from  Equador,  between  400  and  500  years 

old. 

302.  Asphalt,  from  Asphalt  Lake,  La  Brea,  Trinidad. 

303.  Pottery  from  Fort  de  France,  Martinique. 

304.  Tea  pot  from  Cuba. 

305.  Chocolate  bean  and  picture,  Trinidad. 

306.  Two  photos,  Kingston,  Jamaica. 
Mrs.  Charles  Taylor: 

307.  Miniature  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Craft.     Painted  just  be- 

fore her  marriage  in  1832.     She  is  now  97  years  old. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  159 


308.  Miniature  of  Mr.  James  Craft  in 
Harriet  A.  Taylor  Lee: 

309.  Badge  of  Israel  Putnam  in  a  Greek  Society  at  Yale 

College,  1776.     Given  by  him  to  Wm.  Taylor. 

310.  Prayer  Book,  English,  published  during  the  reign  of 

King   George    and    Queen    Caroline.      Belonging   to 
Colonel  Wm.  Taylor. 
Mrs.  E.  A.  Wildman: 

311.  Pewter  platter,   130  years  old. 
Mrs.  Henry  Hine: 

312.  Anklet,  or  Hindoo  bracelet. 

313.  Alligator. 

314.  Candle-stick,  Trinidad. 

315.  Poinsettia  bean,  Martinique.     Nutmeg,  Puerto  Cabello. 

Betel  nut  (natives  chew  to  blacken  teeth). 
Miss  A.  E.  Bostwick: 

316.  Sampler,    1831,   made  by   Lucy   M.    Sanford    (after- 

wards Mrs.  William  Bostwick),  when  nine  years  old. 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Smith: 

317.  Brass  candle-stick,  made  by  hand  in  1767. 

318.  Legal  document  bearing  signature  of  Roger  Sherman. 

319.  Pocketbook  made  by  Kent  Wright,  the  first  white  child 

born  in  Kent,  Conn. 
Mrs.  Lily  Traver: 

320.  China,  18  pieces,  very  old. 

321.  Cuff  buttons,  hand-made,  Chinese. 

322.  Indian  implements  and  bead  bag. 

323.  Silver  spoons,  very  old. 

324.  Candle-stick. 

325.  Coins  and  bill  (Confederate). 

326.  Breastpin  and  ribbon,  100  years. 

327.  Book  and  old  documents.     Account  of  third  and  last 

voyage  of  Capt.  Cook,  in  1776. 

328.  Salt-cellar. 

329.  Map,  drawn  by  Sarah  Northrop   (afterwards  married 

to  Col.  Starr)  in  1822. 


160  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Mrs.  J.  Leroy  Buck: 

330.  Tea  caddy.     Owned  by  Mrs.  Ithamar  Canfield,  born 

Jan.  2,  1770.     Loaned  by  her  great-granddaughter. 

331.  Dressing  case,  owned  by  Ithamar  Canfield,  born  Feb. 

19,  1764;  died  Apr.  11,  1848. 

332.  Document.     Share  in  Toll  Bridge  Co. 
Lawrence  Northrop: 

333.  Sword,  carried  in  War  of  1812. 
Willis  F.  Bennett: 

334.  Powder    horn,    used   in    Revolutionary    War   by   Sam 

Bennett. 

335.  Snuff  box,  used  by  Isaac  Baldwin,  soldier  in  the  Revo- 

lutionary War. 
Flora  G.  Stillson: 

336.  Invitation  to  opening  ball  at  the  New  England  House, 

Dec.  11,  1856. 
J.  H.  Nettleton: 

337.  Indian  relics,  found  in  New  Milford. 
Helen  M.  Boardman: 

338.  Chinese  idols,  brought  from  China  in  1854  by  Fred- 

eric A.  Boardman. 
The  Misses  Boardman: 

339.  Gondola  hook,  used  in  Venice  by  the  nobility  in  the 

early  part  of  the  17th  century. 
Miss  Rose  Murdoch: 

340.  English  miniature,  mother   of  Mrs.   David  Murdoch. 

341.  Mexican  ivory,  very  old. 
Albert  Evitts: 

342.  Vegetable  dish,  used  by  Dr.  Williams.    Old  willow  ware. 
Mrs.  H.  S.  Mygatt: 

343.  Bull's-eye  watch,  over  100  years  of  age. 

344.  Bouquet  holder,  75  years  old. 
Helen  M.  Boardman: 

345.  Compass,  made  from  tree  sent  by  Thomas  Jefferson  to 

Mount  Vernon,  and  planted  by  General  Lafayette. 
Martha  D.  Treadwell: 

346.  Watch,  75  years  old. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  161 

34*7.  Jewelry,  very  old. 
J.  H.  Nettleton: 

348.  Flint  lock  pistol. 
Mrs.  Nettleton: 

349.  Hand-made  collar,  60  years  old. 
Congregational  Church: 

350.  Picture  of  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  pastor  of 

the  Congregational  Church  1836-1843.     Afterwards 
President  of  Yale  College. 
Russel^B.  Noblej 

351.  Picture  of  house   (now  standing)   on  the  plains  about 

two  miles  south  of  the  village  of  New  Milford,  with 
the  deed,  dated  30th  day  of  May,  in  the  12th  year 
of  his  Majesty's  reign,  A.  D.  1772,  conveying  it  to 
his  son,  Ezra  Dibble  Noble,  by  Zadok  Noble,  grand- 
son of  John  Noble,  the  first  settler. 

352.  Silhouette   picture  of  Charles   Clement  Noble,   son   of 

Ichabod,  son  of  Ezra  Dibble,  son  of  Zadok,  son  of 
David,  son  of  John  Noble,  who  settled  in  New  Mil- 
ford,  A.  D.  1707. 

353.  Three   commissions    signed   by    Governors :      Jonathan 

Trumbull,  John  Treadwell,  John  Cotton  Smith. 

354.  Dr.  William  Gordon's  "  History  of  the  Rise,  Progress, 

and  Establishment  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America,"  in  4  volumes.  Published 
in  London,  1788. 

355.  Map   of  New  Milford,   published  by  Richard   Clark, 

1853. 
Mrs.  Henry  Brinsmade: 

356.  Picture,  Mrs.  George  N.  Mallory,  born  in  New  Mil- 

ford,  Sept.   17,  1808.     Now  living  in  New  Haven. 
This  picture  was  taken  at  the  age  of  97. 
Geo.  B.  Ackley: 

357.  Bellows,  over  100  years. 
Mrs.  Charles  E.  Marsh: 

358.  Bible,  leather-covered,  printed  1696.     From  my  grand- 

father, Allen  Marsh. 


162  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Chas.  E.  Marsh: 

359.  A  reel. 

360.  Double  linen  wheel. 

361.  Foot  stove. 

362.  Single  linen  wheel. 

363.  A  spinning  wheel,  for  wool. 
Mr.  E.  P.  Hill: 

364.  Iron  fire  dogs. 
Miss  Sarah  J.  Roberts: 

365.  A  Pilgrim  staff,  brought  to  New  Milford  in  1750  by 

Mr.  Eli  Roberts. 
Mrs.  Arza  Morris: 

366.  Ancient  gridiron. 

367.  Reel. 

368.  Swift. 

369.  Linen  wheel. 

370.  Wheel  for  spinning  wool. 

371.  Blue  and  white  blanket   (Phebe  Velie). 

372.  Blue  and  white  blanket. 

373.  Hatchel  for  flax. 
Mrs.  Eli  Welton: 

374.  Old  mirror. 

375.  Sunrise  quilt,  home  spun  and  woven. 

376.  Tulip  quilt. 
Mrs.  Carson  B.  Mead: 

377.  Map  of  original  thirteen  States.     About  1785. 

378.  Gun  used  in  Revolutionary  War. 

379.  Indian  hatchet  and  pistol. 
Mrs.  Grace  C.  Wellwood: 

380.  Hanging  iron  lamp. 
David  Barnum: 

381.  Button-hole  cutter. 
Mrs.  Hannah  More  Jessup: 

382.  Candle-stick,  used  in  Platt's  Tavern  in  Bridgewater,  in 

1820. 

383.  Whale-oil  lamp. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  163 

384.  Geography,  1807. 

385.  Tent  lantern  of  Gen.  Burgoyne,  taken  by  a  Bridge- 

water  soldier  at  the  time  of  his  surrender,  at  Sara- 
toga, 1777.  Gen.  Burgoyne's  own  lantern. 

386.  Lantern  belonging  to  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New 

Milford  (Bostwick)  and  used  in  the  War  of  1812. 

387.  Tripod  wooden  candle-stick. 
Mrs.  Dora  K.  Sanford: 

388.  Glass  lamp,  1850  or  earlier. 

389.  Pewter  lamps,  about  1800. 

390.  Lard  lamp,  about  1770. 
Mrs.  Horace  Allen: 

391.  Masonic  pitcher. 
Boardman  Wright: 

392.  Autograph  letter  of  Daniel  Webster. 

393.  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  April  8,  1728,  an  early 

number  of  one  of  the  first  newspapers  published  in 
this  country,  the  first  number  of  the  Boston  News 
Letter  (the  first  newspaper)  having  appeared  Apr. 
24,  1704. 

394.  Country  Journal  and  Poiiglikeepsie  Advertiser,   1787 

to   1789.      Contemporary   account   of  Washington's 
first  inauguration. 
George  W.  Murphy: 

395.  Iron  tea-kettle,  over  100  years  old. 
Mrs.  Henry  Ives: 

396.  Silver  spoon,  made  from  silver  coin  earned  by  spinning 

(1799),  by  the  grandmother  of  Deacon  Henry  Ives. 
H.  C.  Ives : 

397.  Silver  tea-pot,   about   100  years   old.      Owned  by  the 

grandfather  of  H.  C.  Ives. 
Mrs.  H.  C.  Ives: 

398.  Sugar-tongs,  made  from  silver  dollars  in  1825,  at  the 

silversmith  establishment  of  Stanley  Sanford  Bald- 
win, for  his  bride,  Harriet  Stevens.  Grandparents 
of  Mrs.  H.  C.  Ives. 


164  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXEB.CISES 

399.  Brass  candle-sticks,  over  100  years  old. 
F.  J.  Turrill: 

400.  Deed,  from  Daniel  Boardman,  1729. 

401.  Plow,  used  by  John  Turrill,  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 
William  B.  Pell: 

402.  Collection  of  Continental  currency. 

403.  Pewter  mug,  part  of  the  camp  outfit  of  the  24th  regi- 

ment of  Napoleon's  cuirassiers.  From  the  room 
which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  occupied  after  the 
battle,  and  known  to  have  been  used  by  him. 

404.  Club,  made  from  a  part  of  the  ram  "  Merrimac "  of 

the   Confederate    Navy.      Sunk    at   the   engagement 
at  Hampton  Roads,  Va.,  by  U.  S.  S.  "  Monitor." 
W.  F.  Gay  lord: 

405.  Gun,  used  in  three  old  wars.      Carried  by  Zephaniah 

Briggs,  when   24  years   old,   in  French   and  Indian 
War ;  in  the  Revolutionary  War  by  the  same  man 
at  46  years  of  age;  and  in  the  War  of  1812  by  the 
same  man  at  78.     He  lived  to  be  103. 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Bristol: 

406.  Old  China,  100  and  150  years  old. 
Mrs.  H.  C.  Ives: 

407.  Collection  of  old  china,  97  pieces,  all  very  old. 
Mrs.  P.  L.  Anderson: 

408.  Roman  mosaic  jewelry,  60  or  70  years  old. 
Mrs.  Henry  R.  Treadwell: 

409.  Autograph  letter  of  Gen.  Washington. 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Percy: 

410.  Silhouettes,  Stanley  Sanford  Baldwin  and  wife,  1825. 

Mexican  medal,  presented  by  State  of  Louisiana  to 
Zachary  Taylor,  Major  General. 
Miss  M.  E.  Hine: 

411.  Sampler,  worked  by  Alta  Eliza  Gaylord,  1829. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Wright: 

412.  The  idol  of  the  royal  family  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Presented  to  a  missionary  by  Kamehameha  I. 

413.  Taper  for  reading,  age  unknown. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  165 

414.  Spoon,   formerly   the  property   of  Daniel   Boardman, 

who  was  ordained  the  first  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  then  called  the  "  Church  of  Christ," 
Nov.  21,  1716.  The  spoon  is  marked: 

B 

D     I 

B  is  for  Boardman,  D  is  for  Daniel,  I  is  for  Jerusha, 
his  wife. 

415.  Latin  Psalter,  1509. 

416.  Prayer   Book.      Changed   from   the  English   ritual   to 

American  P.  E.  ritual  in  handwriting  of  Bishop  Pro- 
vost. It  lay  on  the  altar  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York,  for  many  years  previous  to  the  Revolution. 
When  the  church  burned  down  during  the  occupancy 
of  New  York  by  the  British,  the  cinders  from  the 
burning  roof  left  their  marks  on  the  cover. 
Boardman  Wright  and  Rev.  F.  A.  Wright: 

417.  Pictorial  German  Bible,  1692.     Formerly  property  of 

Rev.  J.  Friedrich  Schroder,  minister  in  the  German 
Lutheran  Church,  in  Mecklenburg. 
Mrs.  Boardman  Wright: 

418.  Silver  chatelaine. 

419.  Scarf. 

420.  Scarf. 

421.  Sandalwood  fan. 

422.  Hand-painted  fan,  sticks,  mother-of-pearl,  gold  inlaid. 

423.  Fan,  sticks,  mother-of-pearl,  silver  inlaid. 

424.  Lace,  Rose  Point  and  Duchesse. 

425.  Old  lady's  cap. 
Boardman  Wright: 

426.  Invitation,  Dance  Programme  and  Menu.     Ball  given 

in  honor  of  Prince  of  Wales  (now  King  Edward 
VII.),  in  1860. 

427.  Silver  tankard,  property  of  Daniel  Boardman,  the  first 

minister  of  New  Milford.  Probably  brought  from 
England  by  Samuel  Boardman  in  1633. 


166  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Mrs.  Florence  Buck  Loonan: 

428.  Clock,  more  than  150  years  old.    Wooden  works,  made 

with  a  knife. 
Raymond  Goodsell: 

429.  Indian  arrow-heads  in  case. 
Mrs.  C.  H.  Allen: 

430.  Lustre  pitcher,  about  150  years  old. 

431.  Sugar-bowl,  over  100  years  of  age. 

432.  Lafayette  Cup. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Wright: 

433.  Chair,  property  of  Madame  Boardman   (Mrs.  Daniel 

Boardman),  wife  of  the  first  minister  of  New  Mil- 
ford. 
Boardman  Wright: 

434.  Hat  badge  (U.  S.  Engineers).     Worn  by  Gen.  Robert 

E.  Lee  through  the  Mexican  War. 
Dr.  G.  H.  Wright: 

435.  Old  wooden  fireplace,  frame  and  mantel.     Old  fireplace 

crane. 
Mrs.  Henry  E.  Bostwick: 

436.  Commission,  William  Gaylord,  1723. 

437.  Two  commissions,  Benjamin  Gaylord,  1760  and  1762. 

438.  Sword  captured  during  the  Revolutionary  War  from 

the   Tory   leader,   Wade   Vaughn,   by   the   Gaylord 
Band. 

439.  Silver,  over  100  years  old,  showing  style  of  engraving 

at  that  time.     Initial  of  both  husband  and  wife,  D. 
T.  M. — David  and  Tamasin  Merwin. 

440.  Pitch-pipe  used  in  the  old  Congregational  "  Meeting 

House." 

441.  Powder  horn,  carried  through  the  Revolutionary  War. 

442.  Piece  of  the  wedding  dress  of  Mrs.  Abel  Seeley,  mar- 

ried  before  the   Revolutionary   War.      It   is   home- 
spun linen  and  hand-woven,  in  imitation  of  French 
muslin. 
Mrs.   Henry  E.   Bostwick: 

443.  Pewter  porringer. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  167 

444.  China. 

Mrs.  G.  W.  Wright: 

445.  Tea  pot,  cup  and  saucer,  imported  from  China  by  Hon. 

Elijah  Boardman,  about  1790. 

446.  Holster  and  flint  lock  pistols. 
Mrs.  S.  E.  Bristol: 

447.  Gold  watch  and  chain,  150  years  old. 
E.  J.  Emmons: 

448.  Newspaper,  Ulster  County  Gazette,  1800.     Account  of 

funeral  of  George  Washington. 
Mrs.  C.  H.  Allen : 

449.  Medicine  chest,  over  100  years  old. 
Sadie  Strong: 

450.  Knitted  counterpane,  about  40  years  old. 
A.  H.  McMahon: 

451.  Millennium  plate,  over  160  years  old. 
Mrs.  Henry  E.  Bostwick: 

452.  Engraving  of  Roger  .Sherman. 
Mrs.  Willis  F.  Bennett: 

453.  Iron  peel,  nearly  100  years  old.     Used  for  placing  and 

withdrawing  food  from  the  brick  oven. 
Dr.  G.  H.  Wright: 

454.  White    satin    suit,    worn    by    Senator    Elijah    Board- 

man. 
Dr.  H.  H.  Hartwell: 

455.  Trooper's  coat. 
Mrs.  Helen  B.  Carr: 

456.  Dress,  made  in  style  shown  in  London  Fashion  Book 

of  1799. 
Mrs.  Salmon  and  Fred  Buck: 

467.   Silver  spoon,  150  years  old.     Cup  and  saucer  used  by 

Roger  Sherman's  sister. 
Mrs.  Helen  B.  Carr: 

458.  Sermons  of  Rev.  Daniel  Boardman. 

459.  Sampler,  1804. 

460.  Locket  and   ring,  worn  by  the  grandmother   of  Mrs. 

Helen  B.  Carr. 


168  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Will  Cogswell: 

461.  Dagger    found    during   Revolutionary    War.      Indian 

Hammer  Head. 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Knowles: 

462.  China,  over  100  years  old;  11  pieces. 

463.  Flax  grown  in  New  Milford  by  John  Caldwell,  in  1800. 

464.  Tailor's  shears,  over  150  years  old.     With  these  shears 

the  lady   represented   in  the  daguerreotype   of  No. 
465  earned  by  tailoring  the  gold  beads  of  No.  465. 

465.  Gold  beads  and  daguerreotype,  very  old. 

466.  Dress  worn  by  Harriet  Beard  when  married  to  Charles 

Knowles. 
The  Misses  Boardman: 

467.  Two  brooches ;  one,  tomb   of  Washington,  the  other, 

made  from  the  Charter  Oak. 
Clarissa  T.  Staples: 

468.  Queen   Anne  knife  and  fork,   Sheffield   plate,  made   in 

1690. 
Mrs.  Ellen  Lamson: 

469.  Tea  pot,  200  years  old,  brought  over  from  England. 
G.  G.  Bray: 

470.  Tray,  150  years  old. 
C.  Andrew  Humeston: 

471.  Wedgewood  pitcher;  lustre  pitcher,  very  old;  cup  and 

saucer,  80  years  old. 
Mrs.  F.  E.  Starr: 

472.  Apron,  home-spun  linen,  worked  with  crewels.    Very  old. 
Clarissa  T.  Staples: 

473.  Candle-stick,  formerly  used  by  Samuel  Treadwell. 
Ormida  Northrop  Pratt: 

474.  Brewster  Cup,  150  years  old,  belonging  to  Mrs.  Mary 

Brewster  Beach,  whose  father  was  William  Brewster, 
second  son  of  Elder  Brewster,  of  the  Mayflower. 

475.  Sampler,  90  years  old,  embroidered  by  Mary  Brewster 

Beach,   great-great-granddaughter   of  Elder   Brew- 
ster, of  the  Mayflower. 


THE  LOAN  EXHIBITION  169 

476.  Fan  of  Mrs.  Jane  (Mills)  Bordwell,  wife  of  Rev.  Joel 

Bordwell,  pastor  of  Kent  Congregational  Church, 
1758-1811. 

477.  Purse,  75  years  old. 
Mrs.  Seymour  C.  Loomis: 

478.  Ring  dropped  by  Lafayette  in  the  house  of  my  great- 

great-great-grandmother,  Abigail  Starr  Taylor,  in 
Danbury,  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

479.  Brooch.      Belonged   to    Mrs.    Ithamar   Canfield,    worn 

during  1700. 

480.  Book,   used  by  Abigail   Starr,  wife  of  Major   Daniel 

Starr,  1750. 

481.  Letter  of  Abigail  Starr,  1756. 

482.  Slipper  worn  by  Abigail  Starr,  1765. 
Helen  M.  Boardman: 

483.  Brooch  (Italian),  about  75  years  old. 
Miss  M.  D.  Porter: 

484.  Door-handle  from  back  door  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Tay- 

lor's house  in  New  Milford,  probably  made  for  the 
front  door  by  the  old  blacksmith,  Daniel  Burritt, 
whose  initials  are  on  it,  1759.  When  repairs  were 
made  in  the  house,  in  the  summer  of  1880  or  1881, 
this  old  latch  was  taken  off  and  given  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Taylor  Porter. 

485.  Powder  horn   (Abel  Hine,  1758). 

486.  Pulpit    Bible,    used    by    Rev.    Nathaniel    Taylor,    who 

was  settled  in  New  Milford  in  1748,  and  died  after 
a  pastorate  of  52  years.  This  Bible  was  given  to 
him  by  his  father,  Daniel  Taylor,  of  Danbury. 

487.  Silhouette,    Rev.    Nathaniel    William    Taylor,    D.    D. 

(grandson    of    Rev.    Nathaniel   Taylor),    made    by 
Samuel  Metford,  New  Haven,  in  1842. 
Mrs.  Chas.  Taylor: 

488.  Hand-made   counterpane.      Made   for  large   four-post 

bedstead,  of  linen,  with  pattern  done  in  candle  wick- 
ing,  drawn  through. 


THE   OLD   HOME   GATHERING 

THE  "  Old  Home  Gathering  "  in  Roger  Sherman  Hall,  at 
8 :30  o'clock  Saturday  evening,  was  presided  over  by  W.  Frank 
Kinney,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Invitation,  Reception, 
and  Entertainment.  Mr.  Kinney,  by  way  of  welcome,  spoke  as 
follows : 

"  You  do  not  know  how  hard  it  is  for  me  to  come  to-night 
into  a  place  like  this.  I  was  asked  by  the  committee  to  take 
charge  of  these  exercises  for  reasons  that  you  well  know.  I 
am  asked  to  give  you  a  welcome  to  our  town.  *  Surely,  the  love 
of  home  is  interwoven  with  all  that  is  pure,  deep,  and  lasting 
in  earthly  affection.  Let  us  wander  where  we  may,  the  heart 
turns  back  with  secret  longing  to  the  paternal  roof.  There  all 
the  scattered  rays  of  affection  concentrate.  Time  may  enfeeble 
them,  distance  overshadow  them,  and  the  storms  of  life  obscure 
them  for  a  season,  but  they  will  at  length  break  through  the 
clouds  and  gloom,  and  glow,  and  burn,  and  brighten,  around 
the  peaceful  threshold  of  home.'  Thus  wrote  the  poet  Long- 
fellow, and  I  repeat  those  lines  because  they  express  in  so  much 
better  language  than  it  is  possible  for  me  to  do,  the  thoughts 
that  are  uppermost  in  your  hearts  to-night. 

"  We  welcome  you  to-night  to  these  grand  old  hills,  among 
which  your  ancestors  were  born  and  bred,  and  where  they  drew 
the  inspiration  that  made  them  the  men  of  mark  and  note  of 
their  day ;  over  whose  wooded  heights  you  tramped  with  the  old 
gun  on  your  shoulder,  looking  for  the  gray  squirrel,  watching 
for  the  rise  of  the  partridge,  or  listening  to  the  distant  baying 
of  the  hound,  as  he  chased  the  fox  along  the  trail. 

"  We  welcome  you  back  to  these  beautiful  valleys,  where,  in 
your  earlier  days,  you  bent  your  back,  and,  by  the  sweat  of  your 
brow,  earned  your  daily  bread.  We  welcome  you  back  to  the 

170 


THE  OLD  HOME  GATHERING  171 

noble  old  river,  where  you  swam  and  bathed  in  its  clear,  bright 
waters,  or  sailed  so  smoothly  upon  its  bosom,  or  skated  over  it, 
in  its  winter  coat,  or,  perhaps,  studied  astronomy  by  counting 
the  stars  as  you  lay  prone  upon  your  back. 

"  We  welcome  you  back  to  these  beautiful  mountain  streams 
that  come  tumbling  down  the  hills,  and  through  the  valleys  to 
the  river,  which  many  a  day  you  followed  with  hook  and  line, 
trying  to  entice  the  speckled  beauty  from  some  favorite  haunt. 
Welcome  back  to  the  little  red  school  house  at  the  corner,  where 
you  learned  your  A,  B,  C's,  and  to  the  historic  old  birch  tree 
that  stands  near  by,  and  of  whose  branches  you  still  have  tender 
memories.  Welcome  back  to  the  dear  old  church,  within  whose 
sacred  walls  you  spent  so  many  hallowed  hours,  and  from  which 
you  took  many  of  the  sweetest,  as  well  as  the  saddest,  memories 
of  the  old  town. 

"  Welcome  back  to  the  old  homesteads,  '  Sacred  to  all  that 
can  gladden,  or  sadden,  the  heart  of  man,  over  whose  thresholds 
of  oak  and  stone,  life  and  death  has  come  and  gone.'  We  leave 
you  there,  we  cannot  cross  those  thresholds ;  but  when  you  come 
forth  again,  we  welcome  you  to  our  beautiful  village,  to  the 
festivities  of  this  Bi-Centennial  occasion.  And  to  those  who 
have  come  back  after  a  few  years  of  absence,  and  to  those  who 
have  come  to  the  homes  of  their  ancestors  for  the  first  time,  you 
will  find  we  have  hearts  warm  enough,  and  homes  large  enough, 
to  welcome  you  all.  Again  I  say,  welcome,  thrice  welcome  to 
our  grand  old  town." 

Brief  speeches,  replete  with  sentiment  and  reminiscence,  were 
made  by  Rev.  George  S.  Bennitt,  D.  D.',  of  Jersey  City ;  Hon. 
Henry  C.  Sanford,  of  Bridgewater  (formerly  a  part  of  New 
Milford)  ;  Boardman  Wright  and  Timothy  Dwight  Merwin, 
New  York  lawyers;  Rev.  John  T.  Huntington,  of  Hartford, 
and  Edwin  W.  Marsh,  a  Bridgeport  banker — all  members  of 
families  which  have  been  closely  identified  with  New  Milford 
interests  for  several  generations. 

The  Chairman  read  the  following  poem,  written  for  the  occa- 
sion by  Mary  Murdoch  Mason,  daughter  of  a  former  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  Church: 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 


HOME 

"  Born  on  these  hills,  or  in  this  happy  vale, 
Our  feet  turn  swiftly  toward  the  well-known  trail: 
At  all  great  moments,  when  the  heart  is  stirred, 
The  exile's  soul  spreads  wings  like  homing  bird. 

"  'Tis  in  this  village  church  our  knees  are  bent, 
When,  'neath  cathedral  dome  or  tropic  tent, 
We  hear  the  burial  service  for  the  dead, 
'Tis  in  the  old  home  pew  our  prayers  are  said. 

"  No  brilliant  light  in  bold,  bright  city  street 
Can  dazzle  eyes  accustom-ed  to  greet 
That  golden  splash  and  sparkle  where  the  sun 
Kisses  our  River's  curve  ere  day  is  done. 
You  know  the  spot.     We  see  it  from  Town-Hill; 
It  stirs  our  hearts  and  makes  old  memories  thrill. 

"  In  Switzerland,  the  snow-capped  heights  grow  dim, 
Mt.  Tom  appears,  and  Guardian  Mount  with  him. 
Rigi's  a  dream,  and  even  Jungf rau  pales, 
While  Alpine  glow  lights  up  New  England  dales. 

"  Old  Ocean's  storms  and  winds  for  us  grow  calm, 
The  while  we  dream  of  Housatonic's  charm: 
And  we  forget  the  harbor  at  Trieste 
To  float  upon  Lake  Waramaug's  dear  breast. 

"  No  bells  that  ring  from  far-famed  distant  towers 
Are  half  so  sweet  as  those  '  First  Bells  '  of  ours. 
And  songs  that  thrill  the  world  were  never  sung 
As  noble  as  those  hymns  we  loved  when  young. 

"  On  London  'bus,  or  in  Pall-Mall's  vast  crowd, 
Sudden  we're  walking  through  a  field  fresh  plowed : 
Upon  the  steamer's  deck  far  out  at  sea, 
We  hear  a  robin  sing  in  Main  Street  tree. 


THE  OLD  HOME  GATHERING  173 

"  In  wind-swept  wastes,  we're  filled  with  joy,  not  gloom, 
Because  at  home  th'  arbutus  is  in  bloom. 
And  when  June  comes,  and  roses  blow,  we  say: 
'  Oh,  for  those  roses  round  our  porch  to-day ! ' 

"  But  'tis  at  night  beneath  the  heavens  we  cry : 
'  These  same  kind  stars  with  ever-friendly  eye 
Upon  our  well-beloved  graves  look  down, 
Far,  far  away,  in  dear  New  Milford  town.' ' 

Charles  N.  Hall,  Secretary  of  the  General  Bi-Centennial 
Committee,  read  the  following  cablegram: 

"  London,  England,  June  15,  1907. 

"  Success  to  the  Bi-Centennial  and  best  wishes  for  the  dear 
old  town!  Deeply  regret  my  absence.  FRANK  HINE." 

He  also  read  the  following  letter,  explaining  that,  although 
addressed  to  the  Committee,  it  belonged  to  all  New  Milford, 
since  it  came  straight  from  the  heart  of  one  whom  all  New 
Milford  loves: 

"  New  York,  June  11,  1907. 

"  CHARLES  N.  HALL,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Bi-Centennial  As- 
sociation of  New  Milford, 

"  Dear  Sir: — 

"  Owing  to  a  severe  and  unexpected  attack  of  illness  I  am 
reluctantly  compelled,  acting  under  the  imperative  orders  of 
my  physician,  Dr.  Allan  McLane  Hamilton,  of  New  York,  to 
relinquish  any  participation  in  the  Bi-Centennial  ceremonies, 
and  I,  therefore,  request  that  arrangements  be  made  to  have 
rny  duties  assumed  by  the  officers  upon  whom  they  will  devolve. 

"It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  my  deep  regret  at  the 
necessity  of  giving  up  any  part  in  these  exercises,  to  which  I 
have  looked  forward  with  so  much  pleasure  and  pride,  and  my 
profound  appreciation  of  the  high  honor  conferred  on  me  by 
the  people  of  New  Milford  in  electing  me  President  of  this 
Association. 

"  I  desire  to  extend  to  them  all,  through  you,  my  sincere  and 
heartfelt  thanks ;  and  to  all  guests  and  friends  who  honor  us 


174  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

with  their  presence  on  this  glad  and  memorable  occasion,  and 
whom  I  hoped  to  meet  personally,  I  extend  a  warm  welcome  and 
a  hearty  greeting. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  HENRY  S.  MYGATT." 

Before  and  after  the  exercises  of  the  evening,  much  informal 
sociability  was  indulged  in,  in  the  course  of  which  many  stories 
of  old  times  were  exchanged  and  many  old  friendships  renewed. 
The  occasion  was  a  highly  enjoyable  one,  especially  to  those  who 
had  come  from  a  distance  after  an  absence  of  many  years.  It 
was  an  "  old  home  gathering  "  in  the  best  and  fullest  accepta- 
tion of  the  term. 


OUR  FOREFATHERS 

WRITTEN  FOR  BI-CENTENNIAL  SUNDAY  BY  CHAELES  N.  HALL 

Lord  of  the  Pilgrims ;  they  who  came 
Far  over-seas  to  praise  Thy  name; 
Braving  the  wave,  the  wilderness, 
Firm  in  their  faith  that  Thou  wouldst  bless ; 
Planting  upon  a  new  world's  shore 
Thy  name,  their  faith,  forevermore — 
Grant  us,  their  children,  thus  to  be 
Persistent  in  our  faith  in  Thee. 

Dark  seemed  the  way;  grim  forests  frowned, 
Hunger  and  cold  crouched  close  around 
That  Pilgrim  band ;  while  wintry  seas 
Rolled  wide,  'twixt  English  homes  and  these, 
Who,  faithful  still,  to  doubt  unknown, 
Laid  here  the  Nation's  cornerstone. 
Grant  us,  their  children,  thus  to  be 
Unfaltering  in  our  faith  in  Thee. 

Bitter  their  sufferings  and  tears ; 
Hardship  and  toil  marked  all  the  years ; 
But  through  it  all  Thy  saving  hand 
Guided  and  held  the  chosen  band ; 
Leading  them  safely  home  at  last, 
All  hardship  done,  all  trials  passed. 
Grant  us,  their  children,  thus  to  be 
Guided,  sustained,  brought  home,  by  Thee. 


175 


THE    SUNDAY    EXERCISES 

SERMONS  appropriate  to  the  occasion  were  preached  to  large 
congregations  in  all  the  churches  Sunday  morning.  These  ser- 
mons, in  so  far  as  they  were  historical,  are  reproduced  here- 
with: 

BY    REV.    FRANK    A.    JOHNSON 
IN  THE  FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

"  .  .  .  In  the  summer  of  1707,  an  eagle,  poised  on  ex- 
tended pinions  over  the  Housatonic  Valley,  would  have  looked 
down  upon  a  scene  of  singular  beauty.  He  would  have  beheld 
a  wilderness;  but  has  not  a  wilderness  a  beauty  unsurpassed 
by  the  artificial  works  of  man?  Mountain,  hill  and  valley  were 
clothed  with  magnificent  forests  of  oak,  chestnut  and  ash. 
The  river,  then  a  clear  mountain  stream,  weaving  its  way  among 
the  hills,  added  to  the  sylvan  beauty  of  the  scene.  There  was 
no  sign  of  the  presence,  or  even  existence  of  man,  save  possibly 
the  thin  smoke  from  the  camp-fire  of  some  peaceful  Indian, 
who  loved  these  hills,  the  home  of  his  fathers. 

"  Into  this  trackless  wilderness,  from  the  then  far-away  north- 
land  of  Massachusetts,  came  John  Noble  and  his  little  eight- 
year-old  daughter.  Do  we,  who  know  this  lovely  valley  so 
well,  wonder  that  he  built  his  simple  home  here,  and  that  his 
descendants  have  remained  here  ever  since?  His  house  was 
for  some  time  the  last  house  this  side  of  Albany. 

"  After  a  short  time,  a  company  from  Milf ord,  on  Long 
Island  Sound,  took  up  much  of  the  land  here,  and  naturally 
gave  the  name  New  Milf  ord  to  the  new  settlement.  These  men 
were  of  a  sturdy  race,  strong  in  body,  courageous,  believers 
in  God  and  His  righteousness.  Just  think  of  the  task  that 
confronted  them!  The  great  forests,  which  would  be  a  better 
possession  than  a  gold  mine  now,  were  an  encumbrance  then. 
The  traditions  of  these  fathers  tell  us  nothing  of  enervating 
club  life,  or  midday  siestas ;  the  daily  rule  of  life  for  man 

176 


SOME   NEW   MILFORD   CHURCHES 

Methodist   Episcopal  Methodist,  Gaylordsville 

Baptist,  Xorthville  Saint  Francis  Xavier 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  177 

and  woman  then  was  work,  work,  work,  that  we  might  enter 
into  the  goodly  heritage  we  now  enjoy.  Among  the  early  set- 
tlers was  Mr.  John  Read,  who  built  a  primitive  house  at  the 
upper  end  of  "  The  Green,"  near  Mr.  Frederic  Knapp's 
house.  Mr.  Read,  at  one  time,  intended  to  enter  the  ministry. 
He  preached  the  first  sermon  here  in  his  own  house.  The 
founders  of  our  State  and  town  believed  in  God,  and  delighted 
in  his  worship.  They  were  assured  that  God  could  manifest 
himself  in  the  wild  woods,  or  in  some  log  cabin  as  well  as  in 
a  stately  cathedral.  And  so,  before  their  families  were  fairly 
settled,  they  provided  some  place  for  the  stated  worship  of 
Almighty  God. 

"  So,  here,  after  Mr.  Read  left  the  town,  the  people  con- 
tinued to  use  his  simple  home  as  their  place  of  worship.  I 
quote  from  our  church  manual :  '  These  people  held  their  re- 
ligious services  in  what  was  called  Mr.  Read's  house,  which  has 
been  described  as  probably  built  of  logs,  one  story  high,  and 
had  but  one  window,  and  was  not  very  commodious  nor  an 
ornamental  place  of  worship.  The  first  vote  to  build  a  regular 
meeting-house  was  passed  in  1716,  and,  then,  so  many  difficul- 
ties were  encountered,  and  so  limited  were  the  resources  of  the 
people,  that  the  building  does  not  seem  to  have  been  completely 
finished  and  furnished  till  1731 — though  it  was  probably  occu- 
pied for  worship  in  its  unfinished  condition  as  early  as  1720. 
This  building  stood  on  Town  Hill,  on  the  upper  side  of  the 
present  "  Green."  In  1754  a  new  and  more  commodious 
meeting-house  was  erected  upon  the  village  "  Green,"  nearly 
opposite  the  present  residence  of  Mrs.  Henry  E.  Bostwick. 
This  building  was  used  as  a  house  of  worship  for  seventy-nine 
years,  during  the  pastorates  of  Revs.  Taylor,  Griswold  and 
Elliot.  During  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rood  in  1833, 
the  present  edifice  was  erected.  In  1860,  it  was  completely 
renovated.' 

"  In  1892  it  was  again  renovated  and  a  considerable  addition 
made  to  this  audience  room,  and  the  chapel,  parlor  and  class 
rooms  were  added  to  the  main  building.  In  1902  the  present 
parsonage  was  built,  and  the  ample  grounds  about  it  were 


178  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

laid  out.     In   1904    the  organ  was  presented  by   one  of  our 
members. 

"  They  were  a  godly  people  who  settled  in  this  valley ;  a  peo- 
ple who  believed  in  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship, 
and  we  may  be  sure  that  some  kind  of  religious  service  was 
held  here  from  the  beginning  of  the  settlement,  but  a  regular 
church  was  not  organized  until  1716.  Eight  female  and  five 
male  members  were  formally  recognized  as  a  church  by  council 
on  November  21  of  that  year.  It  was  a  Congregational  Church 
of  the  *  Standing  Order,'  and  all  the  early  inhabitants  seem 
to  have  been  in  sympathy  with  'it.  It  has  continued  an  unbroken 
organization  to  this  day.  It  has  always  been  influential  in  the 
moral  and  religious  movements  of  the  community;  and  we  are 
proud  of  its  history,  and  are  glad  that  we  are  members  of  it 
in  this  later  day.  ** 

"  We  are  so  firmly  convinced  of  the  Avisdom  of  the  separation 
of  Church  and  State,  that  is  it  hard  for  us  to  appreciate  that 
our  own  church,  through  much  of  its  history,  was  rigidly  united 
with  the  State.  For  thirty-four  years  after  the  organization 
of  the  church,  the  Ecclesiastical  Society  and  the  town  were 
practically  the  same  thing.  The  larger  part  of  the  business 
of  town  meetings  was  the  consideration  of  religious  affairs. 
The  town  called  the  minister,  provided  for  the  expenses  of  the 
church,  cared  for  the  building;  in  fact  did  about  everything 
that  the  church  and  society  would  do  now.  It  was  a  town 
meeting  that  voted  the  size  of  the  shingles  and  clapboards  to 
be  placed  on  the  church  building.  Some  of  you,  not  very 
old,  can  remember  when  the  town  voted  in  the  basement  of  this 
building.  If  there  is  any  virtue  in  a  union  of  Church  and 
State,  this  church  must  have  received  the  full  measure.  Until 
1819  this  Society  had  the  legal  right  to  tax  all  the  inhabitants 
for  its  own  support;  but  naturally,  other  denominations, 
which  had  arisen  within  the  town,  would  object  to  this,  and,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  this  right  was  not  insisted  upon.  The  only 
relic  of  this  incongruous  relation  of  Church  and  State,  accord- 
ing to  American  standards,  is  the  Ecclesiastical  Society ;  and,  in 
the  formation  of  new  churches,  this  is  generally  done  away 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  179 

with,  the  church  feeling  abundantly  able  to  take  care  of  its 
own  affairs. 

"  During  the  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  years  of  its  his- 
tory this  church  has  been  served  by  ten  settled  pastors,  and 
by  several  ministers  who  acted  as  pastors  for  limited  periods. 
All  of  these  ministers  were  men  of  power  and  influence,  and 
have  left  their  mark  upon  both  church  and  town.  From  the 
organization  of  the  church  in  1716  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  church  was  served  by  only  two  pastors — the  Rev. 
Daniel  Boardman,  and  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor.  They  were 
strong  men  and  did  much  for  the  religious  development  of 
western  Connecticut.  Their  descendants  are  still  influential 
residents  of  our  town.  The  third  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Stanley 
Griswold,  a  man  of  strong  personality  and  pronounced  ability. 
After  leaving  New  Milford  he  retired  from  the  ministry,  and, 
entering  upon  political  life,  became  Secretary  of  Michigan 
Territory,  and  afterwards  one  of  the  first  United  States  Sen- 
ators from  the  State  of  Michigan.  Later,  he  was  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  Northwest  Territory.  The  Revs.  Andrew  Elliot 
and  Herman  Rood  were  strong  men,  leaving  the  impress  of 
their  labors  upon  the  life  of  the  church.  The  sixth  pastor 
was  the  Rev.  Noah  Porter.  He  was  a  faithful  worker  here, 
and  his  work  was  greatly  blessed.  He  afterwards  became 
known  to  all  the  world  of  scholars  as  the  distinguished  Presi- 
dent, for  many  years,  of  Yale  College.  The  Rev.  John 
Greenwood  was  a  pastor  greatly  beloved.  After  a  period  of 
absence  from  the  town,  he  returned  to  spend  his  latter  days 
with  the  church  he  loved.  The  eighth  pastor  was  the  Rev. 
David  Murdock,  Jr.  He  was  a  forcible  preacher,  and  many 
of  the  present  membership  were  received  into  the  church  dur- 
ing his  fruitful  ministry.  He  was  pastor  during  the  exciting 
days  of  the  Civil  War,  and  his  stirring,  patriotic  addresses 
never  left  any  doubt  of  the  position  of  this  church  in  the  days 
which  tried  men's  souls.  The  last  three  ministers,  the  Revs. 
James  B.  Bonar,  George  S.  Thrall,  and  Timothy  J.  Lee,  were 
the  friends  and  pastors  of  a  large  part  of  the  present  congre- 
gation. Many  of  the  older  members  were  welcomed  into  the 


180  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

fellowship  of  the  church  during  their  ministries.  Not  only  here, 
but  in  other  fields  of  labor,  they  gave  good  proof  of  their 
ministry.  Of  all  this  list  of  former  ministers,  only  one  is  living 
to-day,  the  Rev.  Timothy  J.  Lee,  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  the  present  pastor. 

"  These  ministers  were  advised  and  assisted  by  a  consecrated 
band  of  deacons ;  men  chosen  for  their  piety  and  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  church.  The  New  England  Congregational 
deacon  has  always  filled  a  large  place  in  the  moral  development 
of  a  community ;  and  so  these  men  have  done  their  part  in  pro- 
moting the  better  life  of  this  town.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  write  a  true  history  of  the  town  without  giving  their  names 
a  prominent  place.  The  name  of  one  of  their  number,  also 
sometime  clerk  of  our  Society,  is  written  high  in  the  annals 
of  his  country,  the  distinguished  patriot  and  statesman,  Roger 
Sherman,  associate  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston,  on  the  committee 
of  five  which  prepared  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. His  colleague,  Thomas  Jefferson,  said  of  him,  he  was 
*  a  man  who  never  said  a  foolish  thing ' ;  and  the  noted  Senator 
Macon  declared,  '  He  had  more  common  sense  than  any  man 
I  have  ever  known.'  At  this  anniversary  time,  we  are  happy 
to  recall  the  name  of  such  a  man  as  a  citizen  of  our  town, 
and  a  member  and  officer  in  our  church.  .  .  . 

The  following  hymn,  written  for  the  occasion  by  Charlotte 
B.  Bennett,  was  sung  in  the  Congregational  Church  in  the 
course  of  the  service  at  which  the  above  sermon  was  preached. 

BI-CENTENNIAL   HYMN 

"  God  of  our  fathers,  in  whose  sight 

The  centuries  are  but  as  days, 
We  ask,  as  those  of  old,  Thy  light; 

We  bring,  like  them,  our  gift  of  praise. 

"  We  bless  Thee  for  the  fathers'  love ; 

They  made  the  rough  way  smooth,  that  we 
Might  safer  walk.     O,  may  it  prove 

The  path  of  peace  that  leads  to  Thee. 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  181 

"  We  reach  across  the  vanished  years 

And  touch  their  holy  lives  to-day, 
They  kept  the  faith  through  toils  and  fears ; 

Grant  healing  in  the  touch,  we  pray. 

"  If  mists  of  time  have  dimmed  our  sight, 

And  faith  has  faltered  on  the  way, 
May  clearer  vision  in  the  light 

Of  holy  memories,  crown  this  day. 

"  Alike  to  Thee  are  new  and  old ; 

Thy  care  through  ages  is  the  same; 
Thy  love  links  with  a  chain  of  gold    - 

The  centuries,  in  one  dear  Name. 

"  Keep  in  the  hollow  of  Thy  hand 

This  hallowed  place,  while  years  shall  last; 

For  righteousness  still  may  it  stand, 
Till  days  and  ages  are  all  past." 


BY    REV.    SAMUEL    HART,    D.    D. 

OF  MIDDLE-TOWN,  CONNECTICUT,  IN  SAINT  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  ALL 
SAINTS'  CONGREGATION  UNITING 

"  It  happened,  as  men  say,  that  the  beginning  of  the  settle- 
ment of  this  town  fell  in  the  year  which  saw  the  organization 
of  the  first  parish  of  the  Church  of  England  in  Connecticut; 
the  bi-centenary  of  New  Milford  is  also  the  bi-centenary  of 
the  Diocese  of  Connecticut.  It  is  but  natural,  therefore,  that 
one  who  is  called  to  speak  to-day  as  to  that  part  which  this 
parish  has  borne  in  the  history  of  the  town,  should  recur  to 
the  origin  of  the  Church  in  this  Colony,  and  should  have  in 
his  mind  the  inspiration  of  last  week's  commemoration  in  Strat- 
ford ;  we  cannot  but  look  back  from  the  time  when  the  Church's 
ministrations  were  first  held  here,  to  the  earlier  ministrations 
on  the  shores  of  the  Sound.  But  we  have  a  stronger  reason 
to-day  for  turning  to  the  beginnings ;  for  the  two  clergymen 


182  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

who  first  officiated  here,  at  the  request  of  a  few  adherents  of 
the  Church  of  England,  were  Dr.  Johnson,  missionary  and 
rector  at  Stratford,  '  the  father  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut,' 
and  Mr.  John  Beach,  of  Stratford  birth,  Dr.  Johnson's  pupil 
in  theology,  in  charge  of  congregations  in  Redding  and  New- 
town.  But,  as  it  appears,  we  can  go  still  further  back;  for 
one  of  the  first  settlers  here,  of  whom  indeed  it  is  said  that  he 
claimed  the  land  by  title  from  the  Indians,  was  John  Read, 
who,  at  the  time  when  the  church  services  were  first  held  by 
a  clergyman  in  Stratford,  was  ministering  to  the  Congrega- 
tional society  there,  and  presently  connected  himself  with  the 
newly  formed  congregation  of  Churchmen ;  indeed,  we  are  told 
that  at  one  time  he  had  it  in  mind  to  go  to  England  and  ask 
for  ordination  at  the  hands  of  a  bishop.  Whatever  his  plans 
in  this  matter,  they  were  not  carried  out;  for  he  removed  to 
this  place,  granted  the  use  of  a  house  which  he  built  as  a 
place  of  meeting  for  public  worship,  and  occasionally  preached 
to  those  who  assembled  there.  He  became  a  lawyer  and  Queen's 
attorney,  and  removed  to  Boston,  where  he  was  a  communicant 
in  King's  Chapel.  His  son  John  was  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Reading  (Redding)  and  named  the  town  for  his  father. 
Thus  there  was  here,  from  the  very  first,  a  little  Church  of 
England  leaven. 

"  But  we  are  told  of  no  formal  church  services  here  for 
twenty-two  years,  and  of  no  separate  congregation  until  1743. 
At  this  time,  Dr.  Johnson,  that  man  of  great  learning  and 
prudence  and  missionary  zeal,  had  been  ministering  for  twenty 
years  in  Stratford,  extending  his  journeys  to  places  adjacent 
and  remote  in  the  Colony,  and  exercising  a  strong  and  healthful 
influence  on  behalf  of  the  Church.  Among  the  young  men 
whom  he  trained  in  the  Church's  ways  and  in  her  theology, 
his  pupils  and  members  of  his  family,  was  John  Beach,  for 
eight  years  Congregational  minister  at  Newtown,  '  a  popular 
and  insinuating  young  man,'  as  was  testified  of  him,  who  after 
ordination  in  England  came  back  to  his  former  field  of  labor 
and  began  a  wonderful  work  there  and  in  Redding,  with  a  small 
congregation  of  five  families.  These  two  men  came  hither  at 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  183 

the  request  of  a  few  Church  people,  of  whom  Mr.  Beach  wrote 
in  1743  there  were  about  twenty  families  in  New  Milford  and 
New  Fairfield,  who  frequently  attended  church  at  Newtown, 
and  to  whom  he  ministered  at  their  homes  as  he  was  able,  but 
rarely  on  the  Lord's  Day.  The  town,  presently,  on  the  peti- 
tion of  twelve  men,  granted  them  a  piece  of  land  in  the  street 
at  its  south  end,  *  near  where  the  old  pound  used  to  stand,' 
forty  feet  by  sixty,  '  in  order  to  build  a  Church  of  England 
upon ; '  and  the  building  seems  to  have  been  erected  in  1744.  .  . 
"  Under  Mr.  Beach's  care  many  in  this  part  of  the  colony — 
for  he  had  a  wide  circuit  for  visitations  and  services — accepted 
the  Church's  ways;  and  thus  was  the  Church  established  in 
the  faith  and  increasing  in  number,  as  in  the  primitive  times. 
When  at  last  he  asked  to  be  relieved  from  the  care  of  the  con- 
gregations and  scattered  communicants  in  Litchfield  County, 
the  Rev.  Solomon  Palmer  took  charge  of  the  Churchmen  in 
this  neighborhood,  and  became  the  first  clergyman  resident  here. 
After  five  years  he  removed  to  Litchfield ;  and  to  him  succeeded, 
in  1762,  as  by  a  kind  of  exchange,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davies, 
whose  grandfather  and  father,  faithful  laymen,  had  founded 
the  parishes  in  Litchfield  and  Washington.  His  whole  span  of 
life  was  but  thirty  years,  and  he  ministered  here  but  four  years ; 
but  he  left  a  record  for  untiring  labor,  constant  pastoral  labor, 
persuasive  eloquence,  and  godly  living,  which  has  not  been 
effaced  by  time,  and  the  results  of  which,  we  cannot  but  believe, 
still  remain  in  this  community.  Even  when  there  was  talk  of 
a  division  of  his  work,  he  proposed  to  retain  the  towns  of 
New  Milford,  Woodbury,  Kent,  and  New  Fairfield  as  his  mis- 
sion, leaving  Litchfield,  Cornwall  and  Sharon,  with  a  few 
Churchmen  in  nine  other  towns,  to  the  care  of  another  clergyman. 
During  his  ministry,  a  second  house  of  worship  was  built,  the 
old  church  being  too  small  for  the  congregation  ;  it  stood  in  part 
on  the  street,  some  twenty  or  thirty  rods  north  of  the  former 
site.  After  Mr.  Davies,  followed  the  Rev.  Richard  (or  Richard 
Samuel)  Clarke,  the  twenty  years  of  whose  ministry  included 
the  cloudy  days  that  preceded  the  Revolution  and  the  stormy 
times  of  the  Revolution  itself.  He  was  a  Tory  in  political 


18-t  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

convictions  and,  after  the  war,  removed  to  Nova  Scotia,  where 
he  died  in  1824*  at  the  age  of  87,  the  oldest  missionary  in  the 
Colonies. 

"  It  would  be  ungracious  to  dwell  now  on  the  opposition,  for 
the  most  part  conscientious,  and  nearly  always  quite  in  ac- 
cordance with  law,  which  the  early  Churchmen  experienced. 
It  is  pleasanter  to  note  that  their  neighbors  and  the  Colonial 
authorities  extended  to  them  what  was  for  the  times,  a  generous 
toleration  as  to  *  sober  dissenters,'  and  allowed  them,  if  they 
actually  attended  church,  to  turn  their  *  church  rates  '  to  the 
support  of  their  own  clergymen.  And  this  parish  had  the 
special  favor,  shared  with  but  two  others,  of  a  special  act  of 
the  General  Assembly,  which  practically  put  it  before  the  la\\ 
in  the  full  status  of  a  society  of  the  standing  Congregational 
order.  Even  the  hard  feelings  of  Revolutionary  days,  almost 
excusable  at  the  time,  soon  passed  away.  The  Church  of 
England  in  Connecticut,  under  the  nominal  care  of  the  Bishop 
of  London,  became  the  Church  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut, 
under  the  care  of  her  own  Bishop,  and  presently  a  constitu- 
ent part  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  loyally  main- 
taining the  Commonwealth  and  the  Republic,  actually  guiding 
the  organization  of  the  State,  and  moulding  a  large  part  of 
the  people  in  the  ways  of  soberness,  righteousness,  and  godliness. 

"  In  all  this  time,  the  parish  of  St.  John's,  New  Milford, 
was  a  true  center  of  missionary  work.  We  wonder  when  we 
read  of  Dr.  Johnson  from  Stratford  extending  his  journeys 
to  Newtown  and  Middletown  and  New  London;  of  Mr.  Beach 
from  Newtown  visiting  New  Milford  and  other  places,  really 
caring  for  a  whole  county  with  '  parts  adj  acent ' ;  of  Mr. 
Davies  from  New  Milford  going  about  in  circuit,  preaching 
and  baptizing  in  Roxbury,  and  New  Preston,  and  Salisbury, 
and  Litchfield,  and  Sharon,  and  divers  other  places  in  the  Col- 
ony, and  crossing  the  line  into  Great  Barrington,  where  he 
found  difficulties  incident  to  another  government,  but  where  a 
church  was  built  under  his  care ;  and  how  he,  in  his  turn,  directed 
to  that  place  the  steps  of  Gideon  Bostwick,  who  ministered  for 
more  than  twenty  years  in  Berkshire,  in  the  southern  part  of 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  185 

Vermont,  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  New  York.  Moreover, 
there  came  in  1769,  to  the  clergy  of  Connecticut,  assembled  in 
Convocation  in  New  Milford,  a  memorial  from  the  few  Church- 
men in  the  new  settlement  of  Claremont,  in  New  Hampshire, 
asking  that  their  case  might  be  presented  to  the  Venerable 
Society  in  England,  with  the  hope  that  they  would  be  allowed 
at  least  a  catechist  and  schoolteacher,  until  (as  they  said) 
they  should  have  passed  '  the  first  difficulties  and  hardships 
of  a  wild,  uncultivated  country.'  Such  a  man  was  commissioned, 
and  did  good  work  as  an  unordained  missionary;  while  a  cler- 
gyman was  presently  sent  to  make  a  personal  exploration  of 
the  northern  provinces.  It  is  apart  from  our  immediate  topic ; 
but  we  can  never  think  of  the  religious  history  of  New  Milford 
without  being  reminded  of  that  remarkable  man,  Count  Zin- 
zendorf,  who  held  the  episcopate  among  the  Moravians,  and 
for  a  while  ministered  to  the  aborigines  in  this  very  place — one 
of  the  few  places  in  which  the  Indians  remained,  and  in  which 
they  were  affected  by  the  preaching  of  Christianity.  There  were 
others  also  here  whose  very  presence  was  a  challenge  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Church  at  one  time  or  another — Separatists,  and 
Quakers,  and  Jemimaites,  and  Glassites.  Among  them  all,  the 
Church  held  her  place,  and  guided  the  life  of  no  small  part 
of  the  whole  community. 

"  For  the  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Rev. 
Truman  Marsh  was  rector  of  New  Milford,  with  New  Preston 
and  Roxbury.  In  1793  the  Church,  already  occupied  for  eight 
and  twenty  years,  was  formally  consecrated  by  Bishop  Sea- 
bury,  eight  of  the  clergy  being  present  for  a  Convocation. 
It  had  been  long  in  an  unfinished  state,  as  we  gather  from 
the  frequent  entries  in  the  parish  records,  which  refer  to  the 
work  yet  to  be  done.  Only  two  years  before  the  consecration 
it  was  voted,  '  To  go  on  and  finish  the  Pulpit,  Reading  Desk, 
Clark's  pew,  and  Gallery  ' ;  and  in  the  next  year  a  vote  was 
passed  as  to  the  assignment  of  seats ;  and,  the  front  seat  in 
the  gallery  being  reserved  for  singers,  and  the  back  seat  there 
for  blacks,  it  was  commendably  voted,  '  That  People  of  any  De- 
nomination that  Wish  a  Seat  Shall  have  one.'  This  edifice,  re- 


186  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

paired  from  time  to  time,  served  the  purposes  of  the  congre- 
gation until  1837 ;  and  the  third  Church  was  in  turn  replaced 
by  the  present  beautiful  and  enduring  building,  on  a  new  but 
adjacent  site,  twenty-four  years  ago,  in  1883.  There  must 
have  been  of  old  a  glebe  lot  here,  though  we  do  not  find  early 
notice  of  it;  it  lay  on  the  west  side  of  the  Main  Street,  and,  in 
Mr.  Marsh's  day,  it  had  a  house  and  barn  upon  it;  there  is  a 
tradition  that  it  was  secured  in  part  from  the  sale  of  a  piece  of 
land  which  the  parish  owned  at  a  still  earlier  day  and  in  part 
from  the  parish's  share  of  the  avails  from  undivided  land  in 
the  highway ;  at  any  rate,  it  was  sold  long  ago. 

"  The  history  of  post-Revolutionary  times  must  be  rapidly 
passed  over.  Mr.  Benjamin  Benham  began  here  as  a  lay- 
reader,  and,  having  been  ordained  in  1808,  was  rector  for 
nearly  twenty  years,  having  duties  also  at  New  Preston,  Rox- 
bury,  Bridgewater,  and  Brookfield;  then,  for  another  score  of 
years  the  Rev.  Enoch  Huntington  ministered  to  the  congrega- 
tion, and,  after  an  interval,  another  twenty  years  of  your  rec- 
ords is  covered  by  the  rectorship  of  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Acly, 
in  whose  time  a  rectory  was  secured. 

"  This  brings  us  down  to  a  date  but  little  more  than  thirty 
years  ago,  well  within  the  memory  of  many  in  this  congrega- 
tion ;  and  the  last  twelve  of  these  years  belong  to  the  present 
rectorship,  as  to  which  we  may  well  hope,  both  for  the  rector's 
sake  and  for  the  people's,  that  it  is  much  nearer  its  beginning 
than  its  end. 

"  A  few  figures  will  show  the  remarkable  growth  of  the  par- 
ish, noticeable  even  among  the  thriving  country  parishes  of 
Connecticut.  A  hundred  years  ago,  already  a  century  after  the 
first  settlement,  there  were  seventy-four  communicants  in  the 
cure  of  New  Milford,  New  Preston,  and  Roxbury;  fifty  years 
ago,  St.  John's  Church,  New  Milford,  reported  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  communicants  and  one  hundred  Sunday  schol- 
ars ;  in  1885,  not  quite  thirty  years  later,  the  number  of  com- 
municants had  increased  to  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  and 
the  number  of  Sunday  scholars  was  one  hundred  sixty-four.  In 
the  last  named  year,  the  new  congregation  of  All  Saints'  Me- 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  187 

morial  Church  was  canonically  organized,  its  beautiful  place 
of  worship  being  consecrated  in  a  subsequent  year,  and  a  rec- 
tory being  added  some  twelve  years  ago.  The  result  of  this 
increase  of  the  provision  for  the  worship  of  the  Church  and  for 
its  varied  ministrations  in  this  town  has  been  a  growth,  under 
all  the  circumstances,  more  remarkable  than  that  of  former 
times ;  in  twenty-one  years  the  number  of  communicants  has 
increased  from  two  hundred  eighty-nine  to  five  hundred  forty- 
nine — four  hundred  five  in  the  older  parish  and  one  hundred 
forty-four  in  the  younger ;  and  where  there  were  one  hundred 
sixty-four  scholars  in  one  Sunday  school,  there  are  now  two 
hundred  fifty-eight  in  two  schools,  of  which  the  mother  parish 
has  two  hundred  nine.  .  .  ." 

BY    REV.    S.    D.    WOODS 

IN    THE    BAPTIST    CHURCH    AT    NORTHVILI^E 

"  Our  best  authority  tells  us  that  while  Baptists  were  not 
very  numerous  in  the  early  days  of  the  town's  history,  yet  a 
decade  or  more  before  the  close  of  its  first  century  there  was 
a  sufficient  number  to  warrant  the  carrying  on  of  services  at 
varying  places — Bridgewater,  Warren,  and  Gaylord's  Bridge. 
These  were  kept  up  for  twenty-five  years,  when,  on  Jan.  7, 
1814,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  residence  of  Asahel  Baldwin,  at 
which  time  it  was  voted:  '1st,  To  organize  ourselves  into 
a  society  to  be  known  as  the  "New  Milford  Baptist  Church." 
2d,  To  invite  a  council  from  sister  churches  to  meet  with  us 
on  Feb.  9,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  recognizing  us  as  a 
regular  Baptist  Church.'  This  council  met  as  planned,  and 
after  a  proper  examination  of  '  their  Articles  of  Faith  and 
their  Covenant,'  voted,  unanimously,  '  to  recognize  them  as  a 
sister  church  in  the  Lord.' 

"  By  this  act  twenty-two  believers  became  a  recognized  body 
of  worshipers,  who,  ten  days  later,  voted  to  license  Eleazer 
Beecher  as  pastor.  He  was  ordained  Sept.  15,  1814,  at  the 
residence  of  Abel  Canfield  on  Long  Mountain.  The  services 
were  conducted  in  the  open  air. 


188  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXEBCISES 

"  This  first  pastorate  continued  for  seven  years,  when  Rev. 
Seth  Higby  assumed  charge  for  one  momentous  year,  as  it  wit- 
nessed the  beginning  of  this  present  house  of  worship ;  and  the 
following  year,  1822,  saw  its  completion,  when  Elder  Higby 
resigned,  and  Elder  Beecher  was  again  installed,  serving  the 
church  for  ten  years  more.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Nathan 
Benedict  in  a  two  years'  pastorate,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  Rev. 
Elijah  Baldwin,  who  remained  until  1840.  For  ten  years  the 
church  was  without  a  settled  pastor,  though  the  pulpit  was  sup- 
plied by  various  non-resident  clergymen. 

"From  1850  to  1866  but  little  growth  is  recorded;  they 
were  years  of  struggles  and  trials.  There  was  a  succession 
of  pastors,  Revs.  H.  M.  Barlow,  J.  F.  Jones,  and  J.  Hepburn, 
serving  as  under  shepherds. 

"  In  1868  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Potter  was  called,  and  his  three 
years  of  service  witnessed  a  gracious  revival  and  added  ten  to 
the  church  roll.  With  the  resignation  of  Elder  Potter,  the 
church  experienced  five  years  of  pastorless  existence,  though 
being  supplied  occasionally  by  Rev.  Arthur  Day.  With  the 
settlement  of  Rev.  Edwin  Beardsley,  in  1875,  the  church  en- 
tered upon  a  new  era  of  growth  and  activity.  The  records 
show  that  two  are  still  members  who  came  in  during  that  time. 
The  succeeding  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  P.  Cotney,  who  remained 
about  three  years,  adding  two  by  baptism.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  F.  P.  Braman,  in  1887,  who  remained  two  years,  bap- 
tizing six  into  fellowship.  In  1889  the  Rev.  Frederick  Kratz 
was  installed,  to  be  succeeded  within  two  years  by  Rev.  John 
Scott,  during  whose  ministry  of  two  years  the  parsonage  was 
well-nigh  completed  and  three  members  added  to  the  church 
roll.  This  pastorate  also  saw  the  church  made  a  corporate 
body.  In  1893  Rev.  F.  D.  Luddington  was  called,  and  re- 
mained three  years,  baptizing  twenty-eight  into  church  fel- 
lowship. In  July,  1896,  Rev.  Charles  I.  Ramsey  assumed  the 
pastorate,  and  for  nearly  five  years  continued  the  good  work 
already  begun,  by  adding  ten  by  baptism.  The  Rev.  A.  H. 
Manee  began  his  pastoral  labors  in  August,  1901,  closing  his 
labors  in  October,  1904,  baptizing  one  into  fellowship. 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  189 

"  From  November,  1904,  until  April,  1905,  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  various  clergymen,  when  Rev.  S.  D.  Woods  became 
pastor,  and  continues  in  that  office  at  the  present  time.  Thus 
far  there  have  been  nineteen  baptisms,  and  the  church  shows 
the  largest  membership  in  its  history. 

"  All  told,  there  have  been  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  bap- 
tisms. The  present  membership  is  seventy.  .  .  . 

BY    REV.    HARRIS    K.    SMITH 

IN    THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

"Text — Proverbs  22:28.  'Remove  not  the  ancient  land- 
mark, which  thy  fathers  have  set.' 

"  A  burning  desire  to  deliver  a  living  message  is  one  land- 
mark in  the  evangelism  of  the  fathers  of  our  church.  The 
age  of  our  town  is  nearly  four  times  as  great  as  the  years  of 
Methodism's  church  edifice  in  our  village;  more  than  twice 
the  years  of  Methodism  in  the  present  confines  of  our  town ; 
one  hundred  twenty-seven  years  greater  than  Methodism  in 
the  State ;  thirty-seven  years  greater  than  Methodism's  first 
Conference.  Indeed,  John  Wesley,  its  founder,  was  but  four 
years  old,  in  June  of  the  year,  when  John  Noble,  New  Mil- 
ford's  first  settler,  penetrated  these  forests  primeval.  Our 
fathers  came  not  as  a  colony,  but  as  evangelists,  impelled  by 
a  vital  experience.  They  believed  that  sin  separated  from 
God,  that  only  by  salvation,  through  the  atonement  of  the 
Redeemer,  could  sinners  be  in  harmony  with  the  Father,  that 
personal  righteousness  and  the  witness  of  God's  indwelling 
Spirit  were  results  of  redemption,  and  that  the  redeemed  were 
to  go  on  unto  the  likeness  of  Jesus.  Without  ignoring  other 
elements  in  their  belief,  the  stress  laid  upon  personal  experience 
and  its  intensity  led  them  far  and  wide.  That  they  did  not 
thrust  an  alien  graft  upon  New  England  religious  stock  is 
seen  in  one  instance,  at  least,  by  the  demands  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  for  personal  righteousness,  and  for  conversion  as  a  re- 
quirement for  all  seeking  the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper ; 


190  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

and  the  sad  rejection  from  his  pulpit.  Infidelity,  imported 
with  the  teaching  of  the  French  revolutionists,  was  alarmingly 
on  the  increase.  The  custom  of  discussing  metaphysical  sub- 
jects and  of  weaving  fine-spun  doctrines  was  spreading  more 
or  less  throughout  Christendom;  to  so  large  an  extent  had 
London  been  infected,  that  Blackstone,  the  famous  law  com- 
mentator, in  visiting  every  church  of  note  in  that  city,  said 
he  did  not  hear  one  sermon  that  had  more  of  Christianity 
than  had  the  writings  of  Cicero,  and  that  they  could  not  have 
been  called  Christian  sermons.  The  revival-stirring  sermons 
of  Wesley  and  Whitefield  were  permeating  through  and  up- 
ward from  the  masses  of  the  people.  And  the  reception  given 
to  this  message,  so  ardently  delivered,  assures  conclusively 
the  need  that  had  been  unsatisfied.  So,  then,  the  fathers  of 
our  Church  entered  this  field  with  the  ringing  word  of  God 
in  their  hearts  as  their  warrant. 

"  Faithful  sowing  and  careful  husbanding  of  the  harvest 
constituted  another  landmark.  When,  in  1789,  Jesse  Lee  was 
appointed  to  Stamford,  he  had  neither  preaching  place  nor 
congregation  as  a  rallying  point ;  not  even  a  member  in  all  New 
England  to  greet  him.  He  entered  with  a  '  roving  commission.' 
True  enough,  Methodism  had  been  presented  by  some  of  the 
most  prominent  evangelical  preachers  since  the  visit  of  Charles 
Wesley,  nearly  sixty  years  prior  to  Lee,  and  including  White- 
field,  Boardman,  and  Garretson,  within  a  short  time  of  the 
more  concentrated  mission  in  1789.  Lee's  fine  appearance, 
his  massive  frame,  his  weight  being  about  three  hundred 
pounds,  his  wit  and  good  humor,  his  wisdom  and  judgment 
of  human  nature,  his  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  his  depth  of 
consecration  gave  him  an  entry.  The  labors  of  Lee  extended, 
during  his  first  year,  from  Norwalk  along  the  Sound  coast,  and 
upward  to  Ridgefield  and  Danbury.  These  pioneers  ap- 
proached our  town  from  the  south,  reaching  the  part  now 
separated  into  the  town  of  Bridgewater,  about  1800;  they 
came  from  the  Hudson  River  in  the  north  to  Gaylordsville 
in  1813,  and  to  Northville  in  1816;  from  the  southwest  to 
Lanesville,  then  called  Pleasant  Valley,  in  1815.  These  ac- 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  191 

tivities  from  all  directions  soon  resulted  in  the  erection  of 
church  buildings  at  all  of  these  points.  The  care  of  the 
preachers  was  constant  to  train  the  converts  enlisted.  They 
visited  and  revisited,  at  heavy  privations  and  difficulties,  to 
make  sure  of  the  standing  of  even  one  or  two  new  members. 

"  The  essential  coworking  of  the  laymen  is  another  land- 
mark. Methodism,  from  its  inception,  would  have  been  in- 
complete without  the  largest  degree  of  co-operation  on  the 
part  of  the  laity.  It  has  been  a  layman's  movement,  under 
the  direction  of  ordained  leaders.  As  soon  as  two  or  more 
were  converted  at  a  place,  one  of  the  number  was  delegated 
as  leader  for  the  others,  thus  forming  classes  for  religious 
culture.  Awaiting  the  visits  of  the  preacher  in  charge,  these 
classes  were  hives  of  industry,  and  seminaries  of  learning,  and 
communions  for  worship  in  charge  of  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber, the  class  leader.  Those  more  qualified  by  nature  and 
grace  were  called  for  special  activity  as  local  preachers,  and 
they  went  from  place  to  place,  preaching  to  other  congrega- 
tions, alternating  with  the  ordained  preachers  and  under  their 
direction.  These  meetings  were  in  homes,  at  times  the  choicest 
in  the  center  of  the  town,  or  at  others,  far  in  the  fastness  of 
the  forest  within  the  rude  log  cabin,  or  at  others,  in  God's 
open  temple  with  the  swaying  branches  of  the  trees  as  their 
rafters.  The  time  of  worship  might  be  at  any  hour  from 
sunrise  until  midnight,  and  on  any  day  during  the  week.  The 
congregation  was  called  from  the  home,  the  shop,  the  store, 
and  the  field,  not  by  the  chime  of  the  church  bell,  but  by  the 
volume  of  hearty  singing;  the  numbers  might  be  confined 
to  one  beside  the  preacher,  or  mount  upwards  to  more  than 
twenty  thousand.  The  immediate  results  of  these  preach- 
ing visits  were  to  be  cultivated  by  the  resident  laymen.  And 
nobly  did  they  keep  the  faith.  Exhortation,  rebuke,  counsel, 
encouragement,  forbearance,  and  brotherly  love  must  come  by 
means  of  fellow  laymen,  in  many  cases  but  little  older  in  the 
faith  than  the  new  recruits. 

"  Zeal  in  building  up  the  local  church  was  another  land- 
mark. Within  a  few  years  after  the  introduction  of  Meth- 


192  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

odism,  church  buildings  were  erected  at  Gaylordsville,  at  a 
cost  of  eight  hundred  dollars;  at  Northville,  on  ground  of 
Harvey  Benson,  at  a  cost  of  six  hundred  dollars,  beside  labor 
and  material  contributed;  and  at  Lanesville,  at  a  cost  of 
three  thousand  dollars.  This  indicates  considerable  sacrifice 
on  the  part  of  the  members,  and  interest  in  the  community. 
In  184-9,  after  considerable  discussion,  the  members  of  the 
different  churches,  so  close  in  location,  agreed  upon  the  vil- 
lage as  a  central  point,  and  our  present  edifice  was  built.  Since 
1833,  when  its  name  had  first  appeared  in  the  conference 
minutes,  it  has  been  known  as  the  New  Milford  charge.  Be- 
fore that  it  had  been  part  of  the  Stratford  circuit,  which,  in 
1822,  when  our  town  first  had  a  permanent  preaching  place  on 
the  circuit,  had  only  three  church  edifices ;  while  to-day  this 
range  contains  church  property,  including  parsonages,  worth 
nearly  a  million  dollars,  has  several  thousand  members,  and  gives 
for  benevolent  purposes,  outside  its  own  borders,  more  money 
every  year  by  far  than  the  total  amount  contributed  for  all 
causes  at  that  time. 

"  Within  a  few  years  of  the  building  of  the  present  edifice 
a  parsonage  was  erected.  Every  year  additional  money  was 
laid  out  on  the  property;  principally  in  1869  in  the  pastorate 
of  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Webster,  and  in  1891,  when  the  church 
was  remodeled  and  enlarged,  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand 
dollars,  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  R.  T.  Cooper.  ...  In 
the  long  line  of  preachers,  whose  counsel  and  administration 
have  cheered  and  molded  many  lives,  was  the  Rev.  William  T. 
Gilbert,  one  of  a  great  class  graduated  from  Yale  University, 
who,  with  earnest  manner  and  finely  wrought  sermon,  built 
deeply  and  broad ;  and,  after  laying  aside  his  pastoral  duties,  he 
re-entered  the  ranks,  working  faithfully  along  different  ways  in 
the  activities  of  the  laymen.  The  Rev.  George  Lansing  Taylor, 
D.  D.,  L.  H.  D.,  ended  a  life  of  great  intellectual  power  and 
moral  grandeur,  while  your  pastor.  For  breadth  in  learning, 
strength  of  thought,  independence  for  truth,  tenacity  to  pur- 
pose, and  conscientious  following  after  his  Master,  he  was 
notable.  His  pastorate  will  long  be  memorable  in  the  history 


THE  SUNDAY   EXERCISES  193 

of  this  church,  and  be  felt  in  the  lives  of  its  members,  among 
the  younger  especially,  as  they  were  marked  by  his  striking 
personality." 

BY    REV.    ORVILLE    VAN    KEUREN 

IN    THE    GAYLORDSVILLE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHUECH 

"  Methodism  was  established  in  Gaylordsville  in  1825,  under 
the  following  circumstances : 

"  Rev.  Cyrus  Silliman,  of  the  New  York  Conference,  came 
to  visit  a  cousin,  Mrs.  David  Sterling,  who  lived  one  and  a 
half  miles  below  the  village,  in  the  town  of  Sherman.  While 
there,  he  made  an  appointment  for  a  week-evening  service  at 
the  Strait  district  schoolhouse.  The  attendance  was  so  large 
and  the  interest  so  marked  that  he  continued  the  meetings 
four  evenings,  and  then  returned  to  his  charge  in  the  State 
of  New  York. 

"  The  people,  however,  continued  the  meetings  for  several 
weeks,  holding  them  in  private  houses.  Rev.  Andrew  Elliot, 
the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  New  Milford, 
learning  of  the  revival,  came  up  several  times  and  visited  the 
families. 

"  The  following  year,  as  a  result  of  these  meetings,  twenty- 
six  persons  joined  the  Congregational  Church,  nineteen  formed 
a  Methodist  class  at  Gaylordsville,  and  others  joined  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  A  subscription  was  started  to  build  a  union 
church  at  Gaylordsville,  which  was  built  in  1826.  Rev.  Aaron 
Hunt,  a  Methodist  preacher  from  the  State  of  New  York, 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  new  church,  which  was  used 
jointly  by  the  Methodists,  Congregationalists,  and  Baptists 
up  to  about  1854.  This  church  stood  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  just  back  of  the  store  now  occupied  by  A.  H.  Bar- 
low. It  was  afterward  sold  to  Peter  Gaylord,  who  removed 
it  to  his  premises  and  converted  it  into  a  barn.  At  a  quarterly 
meeting,  held  in  that  church,  Rev.  Edmund  Storer  Janes, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  afterward  a  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  received  his  license  as  a  local  preacher. 


194*  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  In  1854,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  David  Nash,  the 
present  church  edifice  was  erected,  upon  a  site  given  by  the 
Rev.  John  Henry  Gaylord,  who  also  raised  by  subscription 
about  $2800  toward  the  cost  of  the  new  church.  The  par- 
sonage, which  adjoins  the  church,  was  purchased  in  1884,  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  Rev.  M.  M.  Curtis. 

"  In  1827  Rev.  Josiah  L.  Dickerson  settled  here,  built  a 
house,  and  engaged  in  making  brick.  As  a  local  preacher,  he 
filled  some  of  the  appointments  on  the  circuit  up  to  about 
1834,  when  he  joined  the  New  York  Conference,  and  continued 
in  the  regular  work  of  the  ministry  until  retired  by  reason  of 
age.  He  died  in  1862,  and  is  buried  in  the  Gaylordsville 
cemetery. 

"  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Sherman  Center,  under 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Alonzo  Selleck,  in  1838,  under  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances: 

"  A  few  years  before  the  Congregational  Church  of  Sher- 
man became  divided  over  the  building  of  a  new  house  of  wor- 
ship, or,  rather,  the  location  of  the  building.  A  majority 
of  the  society  decided  it  should  be  built  about  a  mile  north 
of  the  Center,  where  the  present  church  stands.  A  minority, 
living  at  the  Center  and  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town, 
built  a  church  at  the  Center,  and  called  it  a  union  church. 
Rev.  Selleck  was  preacher  in  charge  of  New  Milford  circuit, 
which,  at  that  time,  included  the  following  appointments : 
Pleasant  Plains,  Iron  Works,  Newtown,  Merryall,  Hawley- 
ville,  Northville,  Kent  Mountain,  Gaylordsville,  Bull's  Bridge, 
and  Long  Mountain.  There  were  but  three  churches  on  the 
circuit.  The  other  preaching  places  were  schoolhouses  or 
private  dwellings. 

"  Following  a  revival  service  held  at  the  Leach  Hollow 
schoolhouse  in  the  fall  of  1837,  the  Center  people  invited  Rev. 
Selleck  to  come  up  and  preach  in  the  new  church,  which  was 
not  entirely  furnished  at  that  time.  The  first  service  was  held 
on  New  Year's  Eve,  as  a  watch  night  service.  The  church 
was  filled  to  overflowing,  and,  at  that  service,  seventy-five  per- 
sons came  forward  as  seekers  of  religion.  The  meetings  were 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  195 

continued  several  weeks,  Rev.  H.  Ames,  a  retired  preacher 
residing  in  the  town,  assisting  much  in  the  work.  About  two 
hundred  fifty  persons  professed  religion  during  this  revival. 
Of  that  number,  seventy  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  while 
many  joined  the  Congregational  Church,  of  which  Rev.  Mr. 
Gilson  was  then  pastor. 

"  A  few  years  later  Sherman  was  made  the  center  of  a 
circuit,  separate  from  New  Milford,  taking  in  the  appoint- 
ments in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.  From  1826  to  1848 
this  circuit  was  connected  with  the  New  York  Confer- 
ence. At  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  in  1872  it 
was  again  transferred  to  the  New  York  Conference,  where 
it  still  remains.  When  the  transfer  was  made  in  1872,  the 
records  for  the  charge  showed  a  membership  of  seventy-three, 
the  Sherman  Society  having  at  that  time  but  thirteen 
members. 

"  The  church  has  had  a  long  list  of  pastors,  who  served 
in  the  following  order:  Revs.  John  Reynolds,  William  Jewett, 
Fitch  Reed,  Samuel  Cochran,  Seth  W.  Scofield,  A.  S.  Hill, 
Francis  Donelly,  the  exact  dates  of  whose  pastorates  we  can- 
not give;  1837,  Alonzo  Selleck  and  Asahel  Brownson;  1838, 
Alonzo  Selleck  and  Samuel  Weeks;  1844-5,  Gad  S.  Gilbert; 
1846-7,  Elias  Gilbert;  1848-9,  Justus  O.  Worth;  1850, 
Thomas  B.  Treadwell;  1851,  William  Wake;  1852,  Alexander 
McAllester;  1853,  Gilbert  Hubbell;  1854-5,  David  Nash; 
1856-7,  William  H.  Stebbins ;  1858-9,  Thomas  D.  Littlewood; 
1860-2,  John  H.  Gaylord;  1863,  William  Ross;  1864,  John 
Henry  Gaylord  (during  his  pastorate  the  church  sheds  were 
built);  1865-6,  Benjamin  A.  Gilman ;  1867-8,  F.  W.  Lock- 
wood;  1869-70,  Sherman  D.  Barnes;  1871,  Frank  F.  Jor- 
dan; 1872-3,  B.  M.  Genung;  1874-5,  Uriah  Symonds ;  1876, 
W.  A.  Dalton;  1877-9,  R.  F.  Elsden ;  1880-1,  Robert  Kay; 
1882-4,  M.  M.  Curtis  (during  his  pastorate  twenty-six  joined 
the  church,  two  of  whom  entered  the  ministry — Rev.  Henry 
Hoag,  a  member  of  the  Conference,  and  Mark  B.  Howland, 
a  local  preacher)  ;  1885,  Gustave  Lass;  1886-7,  E.  H.  Powell; 
1888-92,  W.  H.  Peters  (under  whose  pastorate  the  church 


196  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

was  thoroughly  repaired  and  refurnished) ;  1893-4,  I.  H. 
Keep  ;  1895-7,  John  Henry  Lane ;  1899,  C.  B.  Conro ;  1900-1, 
E.  H.  Roys;  1902,  Robert  F.  Elsden;  1903-6,  Edmund  T. 
Byles ;  1907,  O.  Van  Keuren,  the  present  pastor. 

"  In  1898  the  charge  was  left  to  be  supplied.  The  Rev. 
M.  M.  Curtis,  then  superannuated,  filled  the  pulpit  for  a  few 
weeks.  When,  by  reason  of  failing  health,  he  was  obliged  to 
discontinue  the  work,  the  Rev.  James  A.  Hurn,  who  has  since 
united  with  the  Conference,  supplied  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 

"  During  the  pastorate  of  E.  T.  Byles  the  church  property 
was  greatly  improved  by  the  addition  of  well-appointed  church 
parlors,  equipped  with  all  modern  conveniences,  the  entire  ex- 
pense being  provided  for  before  the  work  was  begun. 

"  The  membership,  though  small,  is  thoroughly  united  and 
intensely  loyal. 

"  Others  have  labored,  and  we  have  entered  into  their  labors, 
while  they,  in  continuous  procession,  have  passed  on  to  receive 
the  reward  of  the  faithful. 

"  The  present  membership   of  the  church  is   eighty-eight." 


BY    REV.    ELISHA    J.    ELLIS,    OF    DANBURY 

IN  THE  ADVENT   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH 

"  Early  in  the  history  of  the  movement  which  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  the  Advent  Christian  denomination,  the  seed 
of  the  doctrines  which  distinguished  this  people  were  sown 
here  by  pioneer  hands.  So  far  as  ascertained,  the  first  preach- 
ers to  arrive  on  the  field  were  Elders  Ira  Morgan  and  Samuel 
G.  Mathewson,  about  1844.  Quite  a  number  of  conversions 
followed,  and  Elder  Mathewson  baptized  quite  a  number  in 
the  stream  which  flows  near  the  present  church  site.  Rufus 
Way,  Horace  Gregory,  and  Richard  Heacock  were  converts 
about  this  time — also  A.  S.  Calkins,  who  afterwards  became 
a  talented  preacher  in  the  West. 

"  Joshua  V.  Hines  preached  here  in  1846  or  1847.  After- 
wards, in  the  sixties  and  seventies,  representative  men  like 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  197 

Miles  Grant,  Horace  L.  Hastings,  I.  B.  Potter,  Peter  and 
Samuel  Patro  labored  here;  also  H.  K.  and  A.  D.  Flagg. 

"  Under  the  labors  of  Rev.  A.  D.  Flagg,  in  1870,  the  pastor 
of  this  church,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  found  Christ  in  personal 
salvation,  and,  with  his  grandfather,  was  immersed  in  Still 
River  near  Lanesville.  Over  thirty-five  years  ago,  Stephen 
Heacock  first  commenced  to  publicly  work  for  the  Master,  and 
for  years  conducted  a  mission  in  the  Town  Hall  building. 

"  Between  eleven  and  twelve  years  ago  the  speaker  had 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  him  to  the  Advent  Christian 
Connecticut  Conference,  and  on  November  llth,  1897,  in  the 
Town  Hall,  Stephen  Heacock  was  publicly  ordained  to  the 
gospel  ministry,  by  the  speaker  and  his  associates  of  the 
Ministerial  Board  of  the  Conference.  While  others  have  la- 
bored hard  toward  the  spread  of  the  Adventual  faith  in  this 
section,  I  think,  all  present — yea,  the  entire  community — will 
agree  that  largely  to  the  self-sacrificing,  heroic  efforts  of 
this  man,  and  his  wife,  the  success  of  our  cause  is  due  in  this 
section.  .  .  . 

"  Not  fulsome  eulogy,  but  well-deserved  words  of  praise, 
have  I  spoken  here,  because,  from  personal  observation  and 
connection,  I  have  closely  followed,  and  have  been  somewhat 
conversant  with  its  history.  On  February  20,  1900,  while 
President  of  the  State  Conference,  I  was  summoned  here  to 
set  this  church  apart  in  gospel  order.  On  March  6.  1900 
(in  the  hall  on  Bank  Street),  the  church  organization  was 
duly  incorporated,  and,  on  August  6,  1901,  we  were  present, 
with  other  clergymen,  at  the  laying  of  the  cornerstone.  On 
November  14,  1901,  the  church  was  formally  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  God  and  the  work  of  soul-winning,  Rev.  Henry 
Stone,  of  Wallingford,  preaching  the  dedication  sermon.  .  .  . 

"  It  will,  doubtless,  be  interesting  to  present  a  few  statistics 
furnished  us  by  the  pastor  in  charge:  The  Advent  Christian 
Church  of  New  Milford  was  organized  February  20,  1900, 
with  thirty-two  charter  members.  Forty  members  have  been 
received  since  organization  to  date.  Four  deaths  and  two  with- 
drawals leave  the  present  membership  sixty-six  persons.  The 


198  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

pastor,  since  his  ordination,  has  celebrated  nine  marriages, 
officiated  at  thirty-six  funerals,  and  baptized  forty-eight  per- 
sons. The  total  number  of  baptisms  in  this  faith  by  various 
clergymen  in  this  vicinity  would  aggregate  one  hundred  fifty. 
Elder  Heacock  has  preached  in  seventy-five  different  places 
during  his  ministry  here,  and  has  spoken,  by  invitation,  in 
Baptist,  Methodist,  Congregational,  and  in  union  churches, 
in  this  vicinity.  As  a  result  of  this  outside  work,  fifty  or 
more  conversions  have  resulted ;  and,  during  the  years  in  which 
he  labored  in  the  Gospel  temperance  work,  prior  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Advent  Christian  Mission,  many  people  were 
induced  to  abandon  the  drink  habit,  and  stand  for  God  and  the 
right.  Only  eternity  will  rightfully  exhibit  the  definite  re- 
sults of  this  work  in  and  about  this  village. 

"  Before  we  close  the  historical  part  of  this  discourse,  let 
me  call  your  attention  to  a  highly  interesting  feature  of  this 
edifice — the  church  bell. 

"  Not  only  the  church  people,  who  worship  here,  but  all  the 
citizens  of  New  Milford  must  be  specially  interested  in  the 
bell,  which  swings  in  this  church  tower,  and  whose  presenta- 
tion to  this  church  is  designed  to  perpetuate  some  facts  of 
general  interest.  .  .  .  Partridge  Thatcher,  of  New  Mil- 
ford,  was  moderator  of  an  assembly  of  landed  proprietors, 
who,  with  himself,  had  been  granted  lands  in  the  wilderness 
of  Vermont.  These  proprietors  held  their  first  meeting  in 
this  town  on  May  10,  1770,  at  the  home  of  Colonel  Samuel 
Canfield,  and  Thatcher,  acting  for  these  men,  made  the  first 
survey  of  Waterbury,  Vt.,  in  1782.  A  lineal  descendant  of 
Samuel  Canfield — in  the  person  of  Lawrence  Northrop — be- 
longs to  the  present  membership  of  this  church.  Waterbury, 
Vt.,  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Winooski  River,  and,  on  a 
branch  of  that  river,  named  (after  the  original  surveyor) 
'  Thatcher's  Branch,'  stands  the  Advent  Christian  Church  of 
Waterbury.  In  this  town  of  Waterbury,  lives  an  Indian  gen- 
tleman, Agamenticus,  or  Joshua  Merimam  by  name. 
The  blood  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants — the  North  American 
Indians — flows  in  the  veins  of  this  beloved  pastor  and  his  wife 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  199 

(the  former  descended  from  the  tribe  of  the  Narragansetts, 
and  the  wife,  from  the  warlike  clan  of  the  Pequots),  and  also 
in  the  veins  of  many  of  the  church  members  who  worship  here. 
These  facts  came  in  some  way  to  the  knowledge  of  this  Mr. 
Merimam,  and  he,  in  connection  and  with  the  aid  of  the  town 
clerks  of  Waterbury,  Duxbury,  Middlesex,  and  Moretown, 
Vt.  (adjacent  communities  on  the  banks  of  the  Winooski 
River),  and  a  Mr.  Shonio,  conceived  the  idea  of  presenting 
this  church  in  New  Milford  a  bell,  which  should  not  only 
keep  green  in  memory  the  fact  I  have  already  stated,  but  also 
the  memory  of  a  historic  and  tragic  incident  of  the  old  French 
and  Indian  War  .  .  .  times,  which  I  will  now  narrate. 

"  Over  two  hundred  years  ago,  the  French  Catholics  of 
Montreal  erected  a  church  for  their  Indian  converts,  and 
imported  a  bell  from  France,  which  they  hung  in  this  church 
tower.  Soon  after  this,  the  English  Colonists  raided  Montreal, 
plundered  the  church,  seized  the  bell,  and  carried  it,  with 
many  French  and  Indian  prisoners,  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
River,  thence  via  the  ocean  to  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut 
River  to  Deerfield,  Mass.,  where  the  Indians  were  sold  into 
slavery,  and  the  bell  hung  in  Rev.  John  Williams'  local  church. 
At  a  point  of  the  Winooski  Valley,  where  are  now  located  the 
four  towns  I  have  just  mentioned,  there  was  a  neutral  council- 
ground,  called  the  Moheagans,  where  the  Indians  of  the  New 
Milford  section,  the  Indians  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  North- 
ern tribes  met  annually  to  discuss  matters  of  mutual  interest. 
At  one  of  these  gatherings,  the  Northern  Indians  learned  the 
fate  of  their  comrades,  and  laid  plans  for  a  rescue.  Early 
in  1704  three  hundred  Indians  and  a  few  Frenchmen,  under 
the  noted  French  priest,  Hextel  de  Rouville,  as  leader,  made 
a  raid  on  Deerfield — going  and  coming  through  Waterbury, 
Vt.  Those  familiar  with  early  Colonial  history  will  recall  what 
followed:  the  burning  of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  the  massacre  of 
many  of  the  whites,  the  rescue  of  the  old  bell  and  of  the 
Indian  captives,  and  the  capture  of  more  than  a  hundred  pris- 
oners of  war.  On  the  return  march,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Winooski  River  with  Lake  Champlain,  they  hid  the  bell  till 


200  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

a  more  favorable  moment.  Returning  in  May,  with  one  black 
ox,  driven  by  a  negro,  one  white  ox,  driven  by  a  white  man,  and 
one  red  ox,  driven  by  an  Indian,  the  drivers  and  oxen  gar- 
landed with  festoons  of  wild  flowers,  they  carried  the  bell  home 
to  Montreal  with  great  rejoicing,  where  yet  it  swings,  so  far 
as  we  know,  in  the  same  old  tower  as  of  yore.  In  memory 
of  this  incident,  and  of  the  friendship  of  the  New  Milford 
Indians,  to  their  Northern  brethren  in  the  old  Colonial  days, 
Agamenticus  of  Waterbury,  Vt.,  with  his  friends,  the  white 
town  fathers  of  the  old  Vermont  towns  surveyed  by  the  New 
Milford  Thatcher,  gave  this  bell  to  the  Advent  Christian 
church  of  New  Milford,  Conn.,  and  christened  it  *  Sansaman  ' 
in  honor  of  the  first  Indian  Christian  Missionary  of  New  Eng- 
land, killed  by  King  Philip  of  the  Wampanoags  in  1675.  .  .  ." 


BY    REV.    JOSEPH    RYAN 

IN    ST.    FRANCIS    XAVIER's    CHURCH 

"  To-day,  my  dear  friends,  the  celebration  of  an  important 
and  certainly  noteworthy  event  is  taking  place  in  this  town  of 
New  Milford.  With  pageantry  and  music  and  speech,  in 
gayety  and  festivity,  with  reunions  of  old  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, the  historic  happening  is  receiving  ample  recognition  and 
celebration.  And  they  do  well,  the  people  of  New  Milford, 
proud  of  their  town  and  its  history,  to  recognize  on  such  a  splen- 
did scale  its  two  hundredth  birthday.  With  all  their  ceremonies 
of  civic  and  social  celebration,  the  religious  side  of  their  town's 
history  has  been  given  equal  attention.  Almighty  God  has  not 
been  forgotten — He  who  is  the  Creator  and  Supreme  Ruler  of 
4 be  Universe,  from  whom  comes  all  that  we  are  and  all  that  we 
have,  who  holds  in  the  palm  of  His  hand  the  destiny  of  the 
world  and  the  fate  of  its  people. 

"  To-day,  in  her  different  houses  of  worship,  special  religious 
exercises  appropriate  to  the  occasion  are  being  held.  This 
morning,  in  particular,  sermons  are  preached  of  the  history  of 
her  different  churches. 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  201 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  the  history  of  your  church ;  you  all 
know  it.  It  is  the  common  history  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  the  world  over.  It  cannot  well  or  easily  be  separated 
from  that  magnificent  general  history  stretching  back  through 
the  ages  nineteen  hundred  seven  years  to  that  ever  memorable 
first  Christmas  morn  when  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  taking 
flesh  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was  born  in  Bethlehem's  stable.  And, 
in  that  wonderful  stretch  of  history,  two  hundred  years  are  as 
a  drop  in  the  bucket,  as  a  sand  on  the  seashore.  From  the  days 
when  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass  was  first  offered  up  in  the 
home  of  Matthew  Dunn  near  the  railroad  station,  or  in  Wright's 
Hall  on  Main  Street,  or  in  the  residence  of  Edmond  Finn,  to 
this  very  day,  Roman  Catholic  history  in  New  Milford  has  been 
the  same  as  it  has  been  the  world  over — a  history  of  early  trials 
and  sufferings  and  labor,  all  of  which  have  gradually  and  surely 
melted  away  before  the  grand  old  faith  of  the  ages.  The  loyal 
Catholics  first  in  New  Milford,  though  their  future  looked  dark 
and  stormy,  clung  to  the  faith  richly  planted  in  their  noble 
hearts,  and  put  their  trust  in  the  words  of  Him  who  first  estab- 
lished their  Church  upon  this  earth,  '  Thou  art  Peter  and  on 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  church  and  the  gates  of  Hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.'  And  they  did  well  to  put  their  trust  in  Him 
who  had  also  promised,  *  Behold  I  am  with  you  all  days  even  to 
the  consummation  of  the  world.'  In  the  language  of  St.  Paul, 
those  pioneers  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  New  Milford 
have  fought  the  good  fight,  they  have  saved  the  faith,  and  they 
have  gone  to  receive  from  their  Divine  Master  the  crown  of 
eternal  glory. 

"  They  knew  well  the  truth  of  their  Holy  Religion,  yes,  and 
its  value.  No  mess  of  pottage,  however  alluring,  be  it  greater 
position  in  society,  or  greater  financial  considerations,  could 
tempt  them  to  part  with  their  Divinely  given  birthright  of 
Catholic  faith.  They  were  in  Peter's  boat  and  well  they  knew 
it,  and,  better  still,  they  showed  it  by  their  lives  of  rugged 
righteousness. 

"  The  fair  name  and  fame  of  the  Divinely  built  ship  that  has 
ridden  over  the  waves  and  through  the  storms  of  nineteen  cen- 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

turies  was  safe  in  their  keeping,  for  not  only  did  they  love  their 
religion,  but  they  also  lived  it.  You,  their  descendants  and 
successors,  to-day,  I  would  say  to  you,  in  the  words  of  your 
Divine  Master,  '  Go  you  and  do  likewise.'  " 


THE    UNION    MEETING 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a  union  open-air  service 
of  all  the  churches  in  the  town  was  held  upon  "  The  Green." 
Three  thousand  people,  it  is  estimated,  were  present.  A  chorus 
of  one  hundred  voices,  conducted  by  Prof.  Clemence  and  ac- 
companied by  the  band,  rendered  the  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis  "  and 
"  The  Heavens  Are  Telling  "  in  a  highly  effective  manner,  and 
led  the  audience  in  a  number  of  familiar  hymns.  Rev.  F.  A. 
Johnson  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  presided.  Rev. 
J.  F.  Plumb  of  St.  John's  Church,  Rev.  S.  D.  Woods  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  and  Rev.  H.  K.  Smith  of  the  Methodist  Church 
offered  prayer,  and  Rev.  Stephen  Heacock  of  the  Advent  Chris- 
tian Church  read  the  Scripture.  The  addresses  were  by  Rev. 
Frederick  A.  Wright,  D.  D.,  of  New  Yo.rk  City,  a  former  New 
Milford  boy,  and  by  Rev.  Charles  J.  Ryder,  D.  D.,  of  New 
York  City,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American  Mission- 
ary Association,  who,  although  not  himself  a  native  of  New 
Milford,  is  connected  with  a  family  formerly  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town. 

Dr.  Wright  said: 

"  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  address  you,  both  because  I  count 
it  an  honor  to  speak  to  this  audience,  and  because  I  feel  it  a 
privilege  to  speak  on  this  occasion,  and  in  this  place.  My 
ancestors,  both  on  my  mother's  side  and  on  my  father's,  have 
been  identified  with  this  town  for  six  generations,  so  that  I  feel 
a  sort  of  intimate  kinship  with  the  very  fields  and  mountains; 
and  this  soil  is  in  a  double  sense  my  '  mother  earth.'  And,  just 
as  Antaeus,  the  child  of  earth,  gained  tenfold  strength  every 
time  he  stretched  his  length  upon  the  grass,  so,  wearied  with 
the  rush  and  crowding  of  the  city,  and  the  sorrows  of  its  poor, 


NEW    MILFORD    PASTORS 


Rev.  Frank  B.  Draper 
Professor  of   Mathematics 
and    Chaplain,    Ingleside 
School 

Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare 
Rector     All     Saints     Me- 
morial Church 

Rev.  Father  John  J.  Burke 
Curate    of    Roman    Catho- 
lic Church 


Rev.    Timothy  J.    Lee 

Former     Pastor    of    First 

Congregational  Church 

Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson 
Pastor  of  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  and  the 
Chairman  of  Religious 
Committee  of  the  Bi- 
Centennial 

Rev.   Solomon  D.  Woods 

Pastor      Baptist      Church 

Northville  Society 


Rev.  Harris  K.   Smith 

Pastor  of  the  Methodist 

Episcopal   Church 

Rev.  John  F'.  Plumb 
Arch    Deacon    and    Rector 
of    St.    John's    Episcopal 
Church 

Rev.  Stephen  Heacock 
Pastor    of    Advent    Chris- 
tian Church 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  203 

and  the  '  weighing  of  fate  and  the  sad  discussion  of  sin,'  I  come 
here  and  find  refreshment  and  repose.  The  large  city  has  cer- 
tain great  attractions,  and,  in  some  respects,  life  in  it  is  far 
broader  and  greater  than  it  can  be  elsewhere.  That  is  the 
reason  I  went  to  New  York.  But  the  town,  and  the  small  city, 
have  other  advantages,  and  it  is  by  those  that  my  love  of  this 
place  is  kindled.  And  so,  on  this  birthday  of  New  Milford,  I 
want  to  speak  of  those  qualities  which  I  prize  so  highly  in  this 
place. 

"  And,  first  on  the  list,  comes  personal  freedom.  Thackeray 
said  that  England  had  fifty  million  people  in  it,  mostly  fools. 
Well,  when  you  have  an  enormously  big  city,  there  are  so  many 
fools  gathered  together  there,  that  it  is  not  feasible  and  prac- 
ticable for  the  sensible  people  to  be  free.  You  must  not  carry 
a  pistol,  because  there  are  so  many  '  gumps  '  that  cannot  be 
trusted  with  firearms.  You  cannot  let  people  walk  on  the  grass, 
or  they  will  destroy  the  foliage.  It  is  all  paternalism.  The 
law  is  taking  care  of  you.  You  cannot  let  people  take  their 
children  into  the  park  on  a  sled.  They  might  get  hurt.  A  cor- 
don of  police  guard  the  ice  on  the  part  of  the  lake  that  is  not 
safe.  If  they  did  not,  some  idiot  would  skate  into  the  water. 
Now,  I  resent  being  protected  from  myself.  I  feel  like  Ben. 
Franklin,  '  Where  freedom  is,  there  is  my  country.' 

"  Another  good  treasure  you  have  is  simplicity.  Life  here 
is  less  complex.  There  are  so  many  things  in  city  life  that  de- 
mand attention  that  our  energies  get  scattered,  and  our  atten- 
tion diverted,  and  our  ways  conventional  and  artificial.  It  is 
hard  to  express  just  what  I  mean ;  but  life  up  here  is  less  con- 
fused and  more  elemental  and  natural  and  real.  That  is  a  good 
thing.  Then,  you  have  the  sunshine  and  the  air  and  the  open 
fields.  You  have  what  people  who  come  up  here  from  the 
Bowery  call  '  loneliness.'  It  is  aloofness.  One  can  withdraw 
here,  can  get  away,  can  get  out  of  sight,  can  hear  that  still 
small  voice  which  speaks  only  through  the  peace  of  nature — 
can  '  flee  as  a  bird  to  the  mountains.'  One  idea  of  holiness  is 
that  which  is  set  apart.  Your  landscape  has  a  holiness  which 
is  not  shared  by  shaven  lawns  punctuated  by  statuary.  Our 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

national  emblem  is  the  eagle,  and  there  is  an  eagle  spirit  in  the 
American  people  which  likes  the  cliffs  and  the  forests  better 
than  the  boulevards  and  the  parks. 

"  Then,  there  are  not  so  many  of  you  but  that  you  can  know 
each  other  and  be  interested  in  each  other  and  help  each 
other.  The  so-called  philanthropy,  which  is  more  inter- 
ested in  institutions  than  it  is  in  individuals,  is  a  bad 
thing.  What  this  world,  with  its  suffering  and  sin  and 
error,  needs,  is  not  more  brown-stone  laboratories  and  patent 
book-shelves  and  institutes  for  the  uplift  of  the  masses  and  the 
glorification  of  the  millionaire  rascals  that  endowed  them ;  what 
the  world  needs  is  men  that  are  interested  in  the  individuals  that 
surround  them.  I  have  not  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  give 
away;  but,  if  I  had,  I  would  pick  out  a  worthy  family  that 
needed  it  and  give  it  to  them.  I  would  endow  a  tradesman  and 
not  a  trade  school.  Now,  conditions  here  are  good,  because  of 
the  human  interest  you  take  in  each  other.  If  there  were  five 
hundred  thousand  of  you,  such  personal  interest  would  be  im- 
possible. Try  to  take  a  personal  interest  in  one  hundred  thou- 
sand people.  You  cannot  do  it.  The  personal  relations  of 
employer  and  employed,  of  neighbors  and  friends,  in  a  village 
are  a  priceless  blessing. 

"  All  these  things  are  characteristics  of  this  place. 

"  Besides  this,  it  has  its  own  history,  its  beautiful  street,  its 
scenery  so  exceptionally  sweet  and  lovely — it  is  for  these  things 
that  we  celebrate  its  birthday." 

Dr.  Ryder's  address  was  entitled  "  THE  VILLAGE  AND  THE 
NATION."  He  spoke  as  follows : 

"  In  this  picturesque,  beautiful  and  impressive  Celebration, 
the  Bi-Centennial  of  the  settlement  of  this  region,  thought  is 
naturally  turned  to  the  village  of  New  Milford  and  the  com- 
munity life  gradually  developed  here.  There  were  certain  fun- 
damental characteristics  of  this  village  life  which  you,  who  were 
a  part  of  it  in  later  days,  appreciate  much  better  than  your 
speaker.  And  yet  even  a  superficial  knowledge  of  what  was 
here  begun  and  has  been  gradually  developed  impresses  these 
fundamental  characteristics. 

9 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  205 

"  This  was  a  simple  and  natural  life.  The  speaker  preceding 
me  has  developed  eloquently  this  fact.  Artificiality  had  not  yet 
crept  into  the  social  conditions  of  this  life.  The  value  of  a 
man  was  not  estimated  by  his  heredity  nor  his  wealth.  It  was 
a  pure,  clean  democracy  where  every  man  was  a  man  in  privi- 
lege and  opportunity  *  for  a'  that,  and  a'  that.' 

"  But  another  element  of  this  village  life  was  also  evident 
from  the  first.  This  was  the  articulation  of  the  community. 
Every  one  knew  every  other  one  within  the  confines  of  the  set- 
tlement, although  stretching  along  the  edges  of  the  beautiful 
rivers,  down  the  valleys  and  plains,  and  up  the  slope  of  the 
stately  old  mountains.  When  Mary  Jones'  husband  died  and 
left  her  with  a  brood  of  little  children,  every  man  and  woman 
in  the  community  knew  it,  and  most  of  them  called  upon  Mary 
Jones  with  their  burden  of  food  or  clothing  or  wood-shed  sup- 
plies. It  was  the  articulation  of  one  life  into  another  life,  and 
of  each  life  into  the  whole,  that  made  the  village  of  New  Mil- 
ford  and  every  village  in  New  England  so  strong  and  safe  and 
efficient. 

"  But,  little  by  little,  these  villagers  in  New  Milford  and 
other  communities  round  about  felt  the  need  of  the  articulation 
of  community  interest  into  a  larger  whole.  And  so  the  com- 
munity of  associated  responsibility  and  help  took  in  Waterbury, 
Norwalk,  Bridgeport,  Hartford,  and  New  Haven  and  other 
villages  and  towns  scattered  over  this  general  region.  This 
articulated  the  separate  communities  into  a  larger  whole  and 
the  commonwealth  was  created.  It  was  not  a  formal  govern- 
ment so  much  as  a  community  of  interest  and  sympathy  and 
love  and  organized  efficiency.  These  several  communities  be- 
came a  commonwealth  for  protection  and  development.  Self- 
control  was  the  basis  of  governmental  control.  The  village 
was  strong  and  vigorous  in  so  far  as  the  individual  man  and 
woman  were  strong  and  vigorous.  The  commonwealth  devel- 
oped these  qualities  of  influence  and  strength  only  as  the  village 
developed  them.  And  so  this  simple,  this  articulate  life  of  the 
village  became  the  life  of  the  commonwealth. 

"  Then  a  new  condition  arose.     King  George  came  across  the 


206  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

water,  established  his  forts,  anchored  his  fleet  in  the  harbor 
of  another  community  that  began  as  a  village  in  the  neighbor- 
ing colony  of  Massachusetts.  There  was  need  of  protection 
and  safeguard  in  a  larger  way  than  the  group  of  communities 
or  villages  furnished.  So  there  came  the  articulation  of  the 
commonwealth  with  that  of  other  commonwealths,  and  the  united 
colonial  power  came  into  being.  This  afterwards  became,  as 
we  all  know  so  well,  the  United  States. 

"  So,  in  constructive  analysis,  beginning  with  the  unit  of 
governmental  power  and  influence,  we  find  the  village.  No 
fairer  or  better  or  cleaner  or  more  dignified  than  this  village  of 
New  Milford  existed  in  all  the  group  of  villages  amid  all  the 
clustered  commonwealths.  A  son  of  some  Pilgrims  from  New 
Milford,  who  drifted  into  northern  Ohio,  who  is  your  speaker 
at  this  moment,  rejoices  with  you  who  have  dwelt  here  in  the 
East,  in  this  magnificent  and  imposing  Celebration  of  the  found- 
ing of  New  Milford. 

"  But  a  larger  view  than  this  must  be  taken  if  we  would  esti- 
mate the  importance  and  meaning  of  this  village  Celebration. 
The  articulation  of  interests  in  the  life  of  our  nation  as  it  exists 
to-day  is  much  more  difficult  than  it  was  when  these  villages 
grew  by  natural  processes  into  the  early  national  life.  Multi- 
tudinous and  heterogeneous  masses  are  mingled  in  our  body 
politic  to-day,  coming  from  nations  that  know  nothing  about 
the  traditions  of  Puritan,  or  Pilgrim,  or  Dutch,  or  Cavalier. 
In  many  of  these  nations  from  which  these  peoples  come  and 
mingle  in  our  life,  the  only  thought  of  government  is  that  of 
power,  of  police  force,  or  suppression.  Danger  threatens  us 
as  we  attempt  to  assimilate  into  our  own  national  life  these 
heterogeneous  masses.  It  is  not  that  they  are  bad,  but  that 
they  come  to  us  with  no  such  conceptions  of  the  simplicity  and 
articulation  of  life  and  government  as  our  fathers  possessed 
who  established  the  villages  of  New  England.  Our  responsi- 
bility is  to  spread  everywhere  the  great  principles  that  lay  at 
the  foundations  of  village  life  in  early  New  England.  It  is 
not  from  northern  Europe  that  immigrants  come  who  are  a 
menace  to  these  institutions  that  have  made  the  United  States 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  207 

what  they  are  to-day.  The  real  problem  is  the  assimilation  of 
unassociated  races  who  are  making  a  large  portion  of  our  body 
politic.  Twenty  million  of  the  eighty  million  who  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States  are  of  the  brown-skinned,  undeveloped 
races.  They  represent  fundamentally  different  ideals  from 
those  that  made  New  England  and  the  southern  colonial  States 
the  power  they  were.  It  is  for  us  in  this  generation  to  stimu- 
late in  these  brown-skinned  people  the  higher  conceptions  and 
loftier  ideals  represented  in  these  villages  that  furnished  the 
unit  of  development  in  the  early  years  of  the  nation.  There  are 
two  United  States  to-day,  and  we  cannot  neglect  either  of  them 
with  safety.  There  is  Continental  United  States,  the  familiar 
old  stretch  of  territory  from  ocean  to  ocean  and  from  gulf  to 
northern  Alaska.  This  furnishes  problems  enough  for  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Pilgrims  to  meet  and  solve.  But  another  United 
States  has  been  added  in  these  later  years,  and  that  is  Insular 
United  States.  They  were  brought  to  us  through  the  arbitra- 
ment of  war.  We  did  not  seek  them ;  we  perhaps  are  the  poorer 
for  their  possession.  But  the  great  problem  that  God  in  His 
providence  has  put  upon  us  to-day  is  the  elevation  and  redemp- 
tion of  the  masses  of  these  island  peoples.  They  have  no  vil- 
lage traditions  or  life  to  look  back  to.  They  have  no  intelligent 
conception  of  freedom.  Morality  is  almost  an  unknown  quality 
as  we  use  the  term.  One  great  problem  before  Americans  to- 
day, therefore,  is  the  Americanizing  and  Christianizing  of  these 
masses  that  have  become  a  part  of  our  body  politic,  and  whose 
future  will  largely  determine  the  future  of  our  entire  nation. 

"  The  village  ideal,  the  simple,  natural  life  that  the  smaller 
communities  illustrated,  the  articulation  of  interests  into  one 
common  and  homogeneous  whole,  is  what  is  demanded  to-day, 
and  what  we  must  struggle  for  and  achieve  if  the  nation  re- 
mains in  its  integrity  and  strength  and  dignity. 

"  When  we  analyze  back  to  the  village,  we  only  go  a  part  of 
the  way.  The  unit  after  all  was  the  home.  One  home  articu- 
lated with  other  homes  was  the  final  analysis  of  strength  and 
safety.  It  is  the  home,  and  not  the  church  or  the  school,  that 
holds  men  and  women  to  that  which  is  best  and  noblest.  It  was 


208  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

the  home  in  the  villages  of  New  England,  it  was  the  home  in 
New  Milford,  that  determined  its  value  and  contributed  to  its 
beauty  of  community  life.  We  have  got  to  create  in  these 
masses  that  are  coming  among  us  the  desire  for  the  best,  purest, 
noblest  Christian  home,  or  our  entire  civilization  is  in  danger. 
If  this  Bi-Centennial  of  New  Milford  shall  stir  the  hearts  of 
the  descendants  of  the  brave  men  and  women  who  established 
this  village  with  a  great  passionate  desire  and  an  overmaster- 
ing determination  to  perpetuate  these  great  ideals  and  visions 
which  the  fathers  held  and  nourished  in  their  homes  and  united 
in  -their  community  life,  then  this  Bi-Centennial  were  indeed 
an  occasion  of  deepest  rejoicing  and  abiding  value." 


SUNDAY    EVENING 

At  five  o'clock  a  service  was  held  in  All  Saints'  Memorial 
Church  (St.  John's  Congregation  uniting),  which  was  attended 
by  pastors  of  the  churches  of  several  denominations — another 
illustration  of  that  fine  Christian  fellowship  prevailing  in  New 
Milford  which  the  Union  Meeting  on  "  The  Green  "  had  sig- 
nally exemplified.  The  rector,  Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare,  preached 
an  eloquent  and  profound  sermon,  in  which  he  claimed  that  the 
master-force  in  the  growth  of  mankind  in  all  the  higher  quali- 
ties has  been  the  truth  and  hope  of  the  Gospel,  and  protested 
against  imputing  to  nature,  reason,  science,  philosophy,  com- 
merce, and  politics  what  belongs  to  Christianity.  "  Ethical 
societies,"  he  said,  "  may  preach  ideals,  parliaments  prescribe 
methods,  literature  describe  the  movements  and  processes  of 
civilization,  but  the  Church  of  the  living  God  supplies  the  moral 
dynamic  which  makes  possible  all  the  rest." 

At  seven  o'clock  historical  addresses  were  delivered  at  the 
Congregational  Church  and  Saint  John's  Church,  by  Rev. 
Charles  J.  Ryder,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,  and  Rev.  George  S. 
Bennitt,  D.  D.,  of  Jersey  City,  respectively.  Dr.  Ryder's  sub- 
ject was  "  PILGRIMS  FROM  NEW  MILFORD."  He  said: 

"  Western  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  contributed  more 


MEMORIAL  BUILDING  AND  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


ALL   SAINTS'   MEMORIAL  CHURCH 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  209 

to  the  early  settlement  of  northern  Ohio  probably  than  any 
other  section  of  the  country.  Pilgrims  from  this  portion  of 
New  England  began  early  to  find  their  way  westward.  Along 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  on  the  edge  of  the  great  in- 
land seas,  these  settlers  planted  their  homes.  You  can  easily 
trace  the  line  of  their  march  in  the  intelligence  and  dignity  of 
character  that  their  descendants  possess  to-day  in  these  regions. 
New  Milford  contributed  to  this  body  of  Pilgrims  that  followed 
the  sun  toward  its  setting.  As  they  went  out,  they  left  that 
which  has  been  so  eloquently  set  forth  in  various  public  ad- 
dresses during  the  progress  of  this  Bi-Centennial  of  New  Mil- 
ford.  The  beautiful  valleys  and  imposing  mountains,  the  clear 
rivers  and  foaming  brooks,  the  marvelous,  picturesque  beauty 
of  New  Milford  and  its  environment,  they  left  behind  them. 
They  did  not  find  these,  as  they  planted  their  tents  in  the  great 
forests  of  northern  Ohio.  How  often  have  I  heard  one  of  these 
Pilgrims  from  New  Milford  describe  her  homesickness  as  she 
looked  out  upon  the  almost  flat  country,  which  the  local  clear- 
ing had  revealed,  into  the  dense  forests  that  shut  down  upon 
the  edge  of  this  clearing  on  every  side !  Turbid  streams,  muddy 
roads,  wooden  sidewalks,  the  plain  and  unattractive  natural 
scenery,  and  the  rough  conditions  of  pioneer  life  were  vastly 
different  from  the  beautiful  landscape  and  refined  conditions 
of  this  home  town  from  which  they  went  out. 

"  But  they  did  not  leave  all,  nor  the  best,  of  that  which  they 
had  gathered  in  the  life  in  New  Milford,  as  they  left  its  bor- 
ders and  went  overland  by  their  own  conveyance  into  Ohio. 
They  took  with  them  three  fundamental  conceptions  of  life. 
First,  that  of  the  Christian  home ;  second,  that  of  the  public 
school;  third,  that  of  the  Christian  church.  To  these  ideals, 
planted  in  the  hearts  of  these  early  Pilgrims,  may  be  traced  the 
fruitage  of  the  strong  intellectual  and  moral  life  which  has 
developed  in  the  citizenship  of  northern  Ohio. 

"  These  Pilgrims  from  New  England  found  chiefly  an  oppor- 
tunity. The  physical  conditions  were  depressing  and  hard. 
The  problem  of  life  was  serious  and  difficult,  the  hardships  en- 
countered were  rigorous  and  persistent;  but  wherever  these  Pil- 


210  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

grims  planted  a  colony  in  the  Western  Reserve,  or  New  Con- 
necticut, as  it  was  called,  they  established  the  Christian  home, 
the  public  school,  and  the  Christian  church. 

"  Philo  Penfield  Stewart,  a  Pilgrim  from  the  neighboring 
town  of  Sherman,  illustrates  the  character  and  purposes  of  these 
early  settlers.  He  went  into  Ohio  in  1832,  and,  even  before  his 
weary  body  could  have  rested  from  the  long  and  tedious  jour- 
ney, he  began  at  once,  in  connection  with  Rev.  J.  R.  Shipherd 
of  Elyria,  plans  for  the  establishment  of  a  college  and  colony 
at  Oberlin.  It  is  possible,  as  history  hints,  that  the  first  white 
pioneer  into  Ohio  was  Ferdinand  De  Soto,  who  possibly  pushed 
his  way  into  the  region  of  this  great  central  State  as  early  as 
1539.  It  is  most  fortunate,  however,  that  not  the  descendants 
of  De  Soto,  but  the  Pilgrims  from  New  England  and  their  de- 
scendants, gave  the  ideals  and  formative  influences  to  this  new 
commonwealth.  That  there  should  be  the  least  percentage  of 
illiteracy  in  the  northern  counties  of  Ohio,  known  still  as  the 
Western  Reserve,  of  any  part  of  the  tabulated  world,  is  not  an 
accident.  The  schoolhouse  was  as  much  a  part  of  their  essen- 
tial requirements  as  the  barn  or  the  shop.  When  in  the  heierht 
of  his  wide-reaching  influence,  Dr.  Joseph  Cook  went  once  to 
Cleveland ;  he  carefully  studied  the  conditions  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  Forest  City.  He  afterwards  bore  testimonv  that 
'  in  coming  from  Boston,  Massachusetts,  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  he 
came  up  in  the  character  of  the  appointments  and  work  in  the 
public  schools,  and  not  down  ' ;  that  *  the  educational  system  of 
Cleveland  was  better  than  the  educational  system  of  Boston.' 
Your  speaker  having  had  somewhat  intimate  acquaintance  with 
both  systems,  would  speak  an  humble  word  of  endorsement  to  this 
testimony  of  Dr.  Cook.  These  Pilgrims  from  New  Milford  found 
mud,  homeliness,  forest,  hardships,  toil  and  privation.  Bnt 
they  found  opportunity.  This  opportunity  they  improved  to 
the  best  of  their  ability  or  of  anv  ability  that  human  bein  firs 
could  command.  They  planted  churches  and  worshiped  within 
their  sacred  precincts  with  loviner  reverence;  they  built  their 
schoolhouses  and  had  no  lack  of  teachers,  for  many  of  their 
wives  and  daughters  had  been  teachers  in  Old  Connecticut. 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES 

They  sent  their  children  to  school,  sparing  them  from  needed 
work  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop  or  store.  They  did  this,  be- 
cause they  were  building  life,  character;  were  establishing  a 
Christian  civilization  to  outlast  them  and  their  immediate  de- 
scendants. They  did  it,  because  they  believed  in  God  and  man 
and  in  making  the  most  of  life.  Better  than  all,  they  gathered 
in  their  homes  around  the  clear-swept  hearth  of  their  open  fire- 
places, in  love,  peace,  and  confidence.  Often  the  crackling  fire 
on  the  open  hearth  was  the  only  light  that  the  home  possessed 
for  the  evening.  Sometimes,  as  we  learn  from  their  records, 
they  put  melted  tallow  in  a  tin  basin  and  hung  a  bit  of  cotton 
wicking  over  the  side  to  light  their  humble  homes.  *  Two  such 
lanterns,'  they  tell  us,  '  were  sufficient  to  light  up  the  church 
for  evening  service.'  It  was  almost  reverting  to  the  type  of 
the  lamp  used  in  early  Jewish  history,  and  quite  to  the  profound 
Hebrew  reverence.  But  whatever  artificial  light  these  Pilgrims 
had,  they  saw  clearly  the  great  purposes  of  existence,  and  read 
with  undimmed  vision  '  their  title  clear  '  to  the  best  that  devo- 
tion and  energy  and  faith  and  courage  could  achieve. 

"  When  the  great  agitation  came  in  favor  of  freedom,  as 
against  chattel  slavery,  the  descendants  of  the  New  Milford 
Pilgrims  in  northern  Ohio  did  not  flinch  nor  hesitate.  Professor 
Efart,  in  his  recent  volume  on  '  Slavery  and  Abolition,'  says :  * 
'  One  reason  for  the  force  which  abolition  early  acquired  in 
Ohio  was  the  fallow  field  waiting  for  it  in  the  Western  Reserve. 
This  region,  settled  by  Connecticut  people  between  1790  and 
1820,  was  still  a  little  New  England,  its  churches,  schools,  and 
local  government  closely  modeled  on  those  of  Connecticut.'  Nor 
did  this  *  fallow  field '  among  the  Pilgrims  from  New  Milford 
prove  unproductive.  Rustic  lads,  whom  Dr.  James  Harris 
Fairchild,  President  of  Oberlin  College  for  many  potential 
years,  represented,  bearing  his  testimony  to  these  hard,  early 
conditions,  waded  through  the  snow  barefooted  in  order  to  at- 
tend school.  Such  lads  could  not  be  kept  away  from  the  priv- 
ileges of  higher  training.  Colleges  were  immediately  necessary. 
Such  institutions  were  established,  buildings  erected,  faculties 
gathered,  lecture  and  class  rooms  crowded  with  eager  pupils,  as 

*  Page  196 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

by  the  magic  wand  of  some  scholastic  magician.  Within  a 
few  months  of  its  establishment,  Oberlin  College  had  hundreds 
of  pupils.  They  had  brought  together  a  faculty  perhaps  un- 
equaled,  man  for  man,  in  the  faculty  of  any  institution  ever 
founded.  They  were  giants,  intellectually  and  morally.  Their 
names  to-day  are  wrought  not  alone  in  the  intellectual  and  edu- 
cational history,  but  into  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  our  na- 
tional life.  Ohio,  the  great  West,  the  South,  and  the  nation 
could  hardly  have  been  the  great,  united  nation  that  it  is,  had 
it  not  been  for  these  Pilgrims  from  New  Milford  and  their  de- 
scendants, who  stood  with  heroic  courage  for  the  highest  ideals, 
and  strove  to  attain  them  at  tremendous  sacrifice  and  suffering. 

"  Professor  Hart  is  responsible  for  the  following  bit  of  his- 
tory :  *  When  Harriet  Martineau  attended  an  anti-slavery 
meeting,  she  found  that  she  had  given  offense  to  the  best  society 
in  Boston.  Theodore  Parker  found  his  clerical  brethren  refus- 
ing to  exchange  pulpits  with  him ;  "  My  life  seems  to  me  a  com- 
plete failure  socially;  here  I  am  as  much  an  outcast  from 
society  as  though  I  were  a  convicted  pirate."  The  eastern  col- 
leges, almost  without  exception,  were  strongholds  of  pro-slavery 
feeling.  ...  In  1848,  Charles  Sumner,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard,  spoke  to  the  students  of  the  college.  Longfellow 
said :  "  The  shouts  and  the  hisses  and  the  vulgar  interruptions 
grated  on  our  ears.  I  was  glad  to  get  away ! " 

"  But  such  a  spirit  of  cowardice  and  weak  surrender  to  the 
financial  and  social  influence  of  the  South  as  was  manifested  by 
many  eastern  colleges,  was  not  that  of  the  western  colleges 
planted  in  the  clearing  of  the  great  forests  of  the  New  Con- 
necticut largely  by  the  Pilgrims  of  New  Milford.  They  spoke 
out  steady  and  strong  against  the  *  twin  relic  of  barbarism.' 
Professor  Seabert,  in  his  history  of  the  '  underground  railway,' 
bears  testimony  that  through  the  Western  Reserve  almost  every 
line  of  secret  escape  for  the  slave  running  toward  the  north 
star  passed.  At  Oberlin,  where  the  Pilgrims  in  whom  your 
speaker  is  most  profoundly  interested  had  their  home,  eleven 
underground  railroads  passed.  They  radiated  as  many  as  the 
ten  fingers  of  the  two  hands,  and  one  hand  had  an  extra  finger. 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  213 

It  was  the  boast  of  these  brave  men  and  women,  and  the  boast 
was  proven  by  the  fact,  that  no  negro  was  ever  taken  back  to 
slavery  who  reached  the  Western  Reserve.  How  well  I  remem- 
ber those  early  incidents  in  my  boyhood  home!  The  Oberlin- 
Wellington  rescue  case  is  written  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
How  the  excitement  and  agitation  of  that  New  England  village 
in  Ohio  come  to  me  as  I  think  of  it!  It  was  but  a  few  months 
after  the  death  of  my  father,  Oliver  Roberts  Ryder,  a  Pilgrim 
from  Danbury  to  this  same  Western  Reserve.  A  negro  boy, 
John  Price  by  name,  had  escaped  from  slavery.  He  had  been  a 
resident  for  some  time  in  Oberlin.  Through  the  intrigue  of  a 
pro-slavery  countryman  near  the  village,  he  was  waylaid,  cap- 
tured by  a  band  of  slave-holders,  bound  and  gagged,  thrown 
into  a  wagon,  and  hurried  off  to  a  railroad  station  on  the  rail- 
road leading  into  the  South.  The  descendants  of  our  Connecti- 
cut Pilgrims  of  the  town  heard  of  it.  Prayer  was  offered  first, 
for  faith  in  God  was  the  very  threshold  over  which  they  passed 
to  the  accomplishment  of  any  brave  purpose.  Wagons  were 
hastily  gathered,  firearms  piled  into  them,  and  away  the  Oberlin 
rescuers  went  to  win  this  black  boy,  rather  worthless  fellow  in 
himself,  to  personal  freedom.  This  was  his  constitutional  right 
under  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  for  he  surely  was  born 
to  be  *  free  and  equal '  in  privilege.  He  was  rescued  from  the 
slave-holders,  although  they  were  armed  to  the  teeth  and  dis- 
played their  guns,  but  did  not  dare  to  use  them.  The  faculty, 
the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  the  leading  business  men 
were  in  this  band  of  rescuers,  and  were  afterwards  thrown  into 
prison  for  the  technical  crime  of  their  acts.  Here  again  the 
splendid  traditions  which  these  Pilgrims  brought  from  their 
eastern  home  came  in  play.  Obey  the  law  they  must.  They 
could  do  it  by  not  breaking  it,  or  by  submitting  to  the  penalty. 
They  chose  the  latter,  and  no  one  made  the  slightest  effort  to 
escape,  but  submitted  without  a  moment's  hesitation  to  the 
processes  of  the  law,  and  stood  before  the  jury.  They  were 
not  subpaena  jumpers,  and  in  this  showed  that  they  were  not 
criminal  in  intent,  as  those  who  seek  to  escape  the  processes  of 
the  law  always  are. 


214  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  No,  be  it  said  to  the  glorious  memory  of  the  Pilgrims  of 
New  Milford  and  Western  New  England,  they  did  not  follow 
in  the  wake  of  many  of  the  larger  institutions  in  the  East,  and 
cringe  and  whimper  and  grovel  under  the  crack  of  the  whip  of 
the  slave-holding  aristocracy.  Open  and  free  and  manly,  they 
stood  out  for  the  defense  of  freedom,  whether  applied  to  the 
person  of  black  man  or  white  man.  It  was  the  highest  type  of 
educational  training  which  any  institution  can  furnish.  It  was 
not  tamely  to  learn  axioms  or  to  demonstrate  mathematical 
problems,  but  to  know,  to  believe,  to  defend  that  which  was 
best  and  truest.  These  worthy  Pilgrims  who  went  out  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  into  this  western  forest, 
stood  for  this  with  all  the  sturdy  strength  of  these  mighty  trees 
that  shadowed  their  homes.  It  is  because  they  went,  and  others 
like  them,  that  the  Buckeye  State  has  risen  to  and  maintained 
her  dominant  influence  in  the  nation's  life.  It  is  due  to  these 
Pilarrims,  more  than  to  any  other  one  force,  that  the  whole 
Northwest  was  from  the  first  saved  the  disgrace  of  slavery. 
Institutions  of  learning  in  which  women  as  well  as  men  had  the 
risrht  to  the  best  education  were  planted.  Thev  maintained  the 
school,  the  church,  the  home  in  everv  hamlet  and  citv  and  vil- 
lage; and,  to-dav.  this  region  thev  settled  presents  the  finest, 
largest,  and  most  comprehensive  tvpe  of  Christian  civilization 
that  the  earth  affords.  All  glorv.  then,  to  these  Pilgrims  from 
New  Milford !  They,  like  one  of  old,  *  went  out  not  knowing 
whither  they  went.'  They  dared  and  suffered  and  died,  but 
always  achieved.  Well  may  this  village,  a  beautiful  gem  set  in 
the  midst  of  these  rolling  hills,  rejoice  in  its  own  noble  develop- 
ment and  progress  and  prosperity.  Your  life  here  is  almost 
ideal.  The  conditions  are  as  fine  as  the  world  affords.  But,  as 
you  rejoice  in  this  Bi-Centennial  of  your  own  founding,  forget 
not,  O  brave  and  true  men  and  women  of  this  generation ;  forget 
not,  O  Christians  of  these  churches ;  forget  not,  O  patrons  of 
this  redeemed  nation,  that  the  Pilgrims  that  went  out  from  your 
firesides  and  homes  into  the  great  West  inaugurated  the  tre- 
mendous forces  that  have  moved  on  in  increasing  power  and 
breadth  until  the  whole  nation  has  been  made  the  rihcer  by  their 
mighty  power." 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  215 

Dr.  Bennitt's  address  at  Saint  John's  Church  was  as  follows : 

".  .  .  Religious  matters,  during  our  beginnings,  did  not 
run  very  smoothly.  The  desire  for  greater  religious  freedom 
caused  a  considerable  falling  away  of  sundry  church  members 
to  Quakerism  in  1731  and  1732.  There  were  also  families 
who  had  come  into  the  town,  and  brought  with  them  an  affec- 
tion for  their  old  Church  in  England;  and,  as  the  English 
Church  had  been  established  in  Stratford  in  1707,  and  in 
Newtown  in  1732,  only  fifteen  miles  away,  the  influence  of  this 
Church  began  to  exert  itself  here.  When  the  Rev.  John 
Beach  .  .  .  established  the  services  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  Newtown,  the  Churchmen  of  New  Milford  jour- 
neyed on  Saturdays  to  Newtown,  carrying  their  own  pro- 
visions, and  the  Churchmen  there  gave  them  their  lodgings. 
He  baptized  their  children,  and  came  here  to  officiate  at  a 
marriage  in  1739.  He  began  services  here  about  1742.  He 
sent  Mr.  Barzilla  Dean  here  as  a  lay  reader,  services  being 
rendered  in  one  of  the  houses  of  a  Church  family. 

"  It  is  stated  that  certain  Churchmen  in  New  Milford  were 
fined  for  refusing  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Established 
Church.  These  fines  were,  by  recommendation  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Beach,  paid,  and  copies  of  the  proceedings  taken  to  be 
forwarded  to  the  King  and  Council.  The  fact  becoming 
known,  the  authorities  refunded  the  money,  and  granted  per- 
mission to  build  a  church  which  before  had  been  refused.  .  .  . 
In  1745-6  materials  were  gathered,  and  the  English  Church 
in  New  Milford  erected. 

"  Let  us  glance  for  a  few  moments  at  the  village  street  at  this 
time.  The  early  settlers  had  laid  out  their  town  plot,  because 
of  a  beautiful  spring  of  water,  at  the  head  of  the  street,  nearly 
in  front  of  Ingleside  School,  and  about  under  the  present  side- 
walk. The  water  from  this  spring  meandered  its  way  down 
through  the  village  street,  bowing  from  the  spring  to  the 
south  end  of  the  street,  where  it  formed  a  small  pond,  which 
was  called  *  The  Goose  Pond.'  This  accounts  for  the  east 
side  of  Main  Street  bowing,  while  the  west  side  is  straight, 
and  the  street  opening  out  considerably  wider  at  the  south 


216  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

end,  on  account  of  *  The  Goose  Pond.'  This  spring  was 
there  in  my  boyhood  days,  although  an  open  ditch  had  been 
constructed  through  the  middle  of  '  The  Green,'  in  which  the 
stream  flowed.  Since  the  construction  of  the  water  works, 
however,  and  the  laying  of  pipes  through  the  street,  both 
the  spring  and  the  stream  have  disappeared. 

"  The  First  Established  Church  stood  near  the  head  of  Main 
Street,  near  the  spring,  and  the  land  granted  for  the  Church 
of  England  was  in  the  street,  east  of  Mr.  Samuel  Prindle's 
house,  near  where  the  old  pound  used  to  stand,  at  the  south 
end  of  Main  Street,  therefore,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  street. 
Here  they  built  the  first  Church  of  England  in  New  Milford. 
.  It  was  a  frame  building,  forty  feet  by  thirty.  It  had 
two  rows  of  windows,  one  above  the  other,  and  presented  the 
appearance  of  a  two-story  house,  and  the  door  was  in  the 
side.  It  was  surmounted  by  a  turret  in  the  center  of  the 
building,  and  stood  ends  to  the  east  and  west.  The  door  was 
on  the  south  side,  and  within,  on  the  north  side,  stood  the 
pulpit.  It  was  not  until  1756  that  the  building  was  finished, 
when,  upon  the  building  of  the  second  meeting-house,  it  was 
voted  to  give  three-quarters  of  the  body  seats  and  two  pews 
in  the  old  meeting-house  to  the  Church  of  England.  Then, 
the  church  was  furnished  with  the  square  box  seats,  and  the 
pulpit  stood  aloft,  beneath  which  was  the  reading  desk  for  the 
prayers,  and,  beneath  that,  the  pew  for  the  clerk,  to  lead  in 
the  responses,  and  to  tune  the  Psalms.  A  curtain  across 
the  corner  served  as  a  robing-room  for  the  vesting  of  the 
clergymen,  and,  around  little  tables  which  were  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  square  box  seats,  gathered  the  families  of  the 
Churchmen  of  that  early  time.  And  on  account  of  the  love 
and  affection  they  bore  to  the  Rev.  John  Beach,  of  Newtown, 
who  first  planted  the  church  in  their  midst,  they  named  it 
'  Saint  John's  Church  ' ;  and  it  has  borne  that  name  ever  since, 

"  The  Rev.  Solomon  Palmer,  a  Congregational  minister  of 
Cornwall,  dissatisfied  with  his  orders,  conformed  to  the  Church, 
and  went  to  England  for  ordination.  After  that,  he  returned 
here,  and  became  the  first  Church  of  England  minister  who 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES 

resided  here,  from  1754  to  1760.  .  .  .  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davies  in  1761.  He  was  a  missionary 
sent  by  the  '  Venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.'  ...  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, a  man  who  had  become  a  minister  of  the  church  from 
conviction,  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  a  reader  of  the  service, 
and  preacher  of  the  highest  order.  .  .  .  Under  this  man 
of  God  the  Church  outgrew  its  small  building,  and  entered 
upon  the  construction  of  a  new,  more  commodious,  and 
churchly  edifice. 

"  I  have  a  copy  of  the  diary  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davies, 
containing  most  of  his  ministerial  acts,  and  some  of  these 
shed  considerable  light  on  the  old  times.  He  records,  on 
November  15,  1764 :  '  On  St.  Pumpion's  (Pumpkin's)  Day,  I 
baptized  at  Ethel  Stone's,  Martha,  Ester  and  Edmond,  chil- 
dren of  Ethel  Stone,  Hannah  of  Gad  Sperry,  Joseph  and  Hulda 
of  Samuel  Peet,  and  David  Smith  of  David  Smith.' 

"  He  alludes  to  St.  Pumpion's  Day  in  other  records,  which 
leads  us  to  suppose  that  this  was  a  colloquial  term  in  those 
days  for  designating  the  annual  New  England  Thanksgiving, 
which  was  celebrated  by  an  abundance  of  pumpkin  pies. 

"  I  have  a  manuscript  sermon  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davies, 
preached  at  New  Milford,  written  in  the  finest  hand,  showing 
clearness  of  thought,  a  fine  choice  of  language,  and  rising  to 
eloquence,  in  pressing  home  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  the 
word  of  God. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Davies  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Richard 
Clark  from  Milford,  who  remained  here  until  1787.  He  was 
here  during  the  Revolution.  The  church  begun  by  Mr. 
Davies  was  completed  sufficiently  to  begin  services  therein, 
and  the  old  church  was  sold  to  the  town  for  a  town  house. 
This  was  removed  to  the  head  of  Main  Street  and  used  for 
several  years. 

"  The  second  Church  of  England,  begun  under  Rev.  Mr. 
Davies,  had  Partridge  Thatcher  for  its  architect,  but  was 
modeled  after  the  church  at  Stratford,  but  somewhat  plainer 
in  its  ornamentation. 


218  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  It  stood,  facing  the  road  towards  Butter  Brook,  a  few  rods 
north  of  the  first  church,  had  a  steeple  which  projected  out 
in  front  of  the  building,  and  long  windows  round  at  the  top. 
Within,  it  had  the  high  pulpit  with  circular  stairs;  its 
reading  desk  and  clerk's  pew  beneath,  making  what  was  called 
a  three-decker.  A  communion  table  was  in  front  of  all,  and 
the  whole  was  surrounded  by  a  communion  rail.  A  gallery 
was  across  the  south  end;  and  a  curtain  across  the  corner, 
served  again  as  a  robing-room.  The  service  of  that  day  had 
its  peculiar  features.  The  clergyman  was  robed  in  a  long 
surplice  and  black  scarf.  He  wore  a  white  wig,  to  give  age 
and  dignity  to  his  ministrations.  The  surplice  was  exchanged 
for  a  black  silk  gown  and  bands  before  the  sermon,  the  con- 
gregation all  knelt  for  the  prayers,  and,  in  doing  so,  turned 
around  and  knelt  to  the  seats.  The  clerk  (or  clark,  as  the 
people  called  him)  doled  out  a  line  of  the  old  Metrical  Psalms, 
and  the  congregation  sang  it,  and  waited  for  another  line. 
There  was  no  fire  in  the  church,  and,  in  winter,  the  women 
carried  their  foot  stoves  to  keep  their  feet  warm. 

"  The  Revolution,  however,  gave  great  discouragement  to 
the  Church  of  England  people,  for  everything  English  was 
hated  by  the  inhabitants,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark,  after  ten 
years  of  struggle,  gave  up  and  fled  to  Nova  Scotia  in  1787, 
and  the  church  was  closed. 

"  The  kind  of  Church  people  that  were  made  in  the  Colonial 
days  of  the  Church  in  Connecticut  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
name  of  Samuel  Peet,  a  devout  Churchman  from  Stratford, 
who  came  to  settle  in  the  New  Milford  North  Purchase,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rock  Cobble,  west  of  Peet  Hill.  He  selected  a  site 
for  his  future  home  near  a  great  rock,  which,  by  some  con- 
vulsion of  nature,  had  been  rent  asunder,  leaving  a  portion 
like  an  altar  between,  with  two  natural  steps  to  ascend  it. 
Here,  Samuel  Peet,  the  Hermit,  knelt  day  by  day  to  worship 
his  God,  and  the  holes  he  chiseled  out  for  his  knees  on  the  top 
of  that  altar  are  to  be  seen  to  this  day.  He  erected  his  house 
just  west  of  the  altar,  and  here  reared  his  family,  desiring  to 
be  buried  between  the  rocks,  but,  as  it  was  found  they  came 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES 

together  just  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  he  was  buried 
on  the  east  side  of  the  altar  rocks,  in  one  of  the  most  romantic 
burying-places  of  this  town.  Now,  in  1789,  when  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Clark  had  fled  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  church  in  New 
Preston  was  boarded  up  to  save  its  windows  from  being  de- 
stroyed, Samuel  Feet  was  on  his  death-bed,  desiring  to  receive 
the  Holy  Communion.  He  sent  a  messenger  away  down  to  one 
of  the  churches  nearer  the  Sound,  for  a  priest.  It  was  in 
March,  and  the  roads  were  very  heavy,  and  a  prolonged  time 
was  required. 

''  Meanwhile,  Samuel  Peet  was  nearing  his  end.  He  asked 
that  bread  and  wine  be  prepared  and  placed  on  a  table  beside 
his  bed,  that  no  time  be  lost  when  the  priest  of  the  Church 
arrived.  Again  and  again,  he  sent  out  to  see  if  the  messenger 
and  the  priest  might  be  seen  coming  in  the  distance;  and,  as 
the  end  grew  nearer,  and  the  priest  had  not  arrived,  Samuel 
Peet  said,  *  Let  us  pray,'  and,  when  all  had  knelt  around  his 
bed,  he  prayed :  '  O  Blessed  Jesus,  Our  great  High  Priest, 
come  down  and  consecrate  this  Bread  and  this  Wine  to  be  Thy 
Body  and  Blood.'  And,  after  silence  had  been  kept  for  a 
space,  he  reached  out  his  trembling  hand  and  communicated 
himself,  after  which  he  soon  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  Who  shall 
say  that  was  not  a  valid  consecration  1 

"  The  priest  of  the  Church  arrived  that  night,  and  remained 
to  qpmmit  his  body  to  the  earth,  looking  for  the  general  res- 
urrection in  the  Last  Day. 

"  It  is  a  tradition  that  some  of  the  rectors  of  the  Church  of 
England  had  a  habit  of  talking  to  themselves,  and,  behind  the 
curtain  while  they  were  robing,  would  often  repeat  over  the 
notices  to  be  given  out,  the  most  interesting  being  the  pub- 
lishing of  the  banns  of  matrimony,  which  was  the  custom  in 
those  days.  On  one  occasion  the  banns  were  published  between 
Orin  Marsh  and  Maria  Hill,  who  lived  upon  the  plains.  Now, 
there  were  in  the  Church,  Orman  Marsh  of  Boardman's  Bridge, 
and  Maria  Hill,  of  Aspetuck,  whom  the  congregation  thought 
were  the  parties  published,  greatly  to  their  confusion.  That 
day,  the  second-named  began  their  acquaintance,  suggested 


220  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXEECISES 

by  the  banns,  and,  in  due  time,  their  banns  were  likewise  pub- 
lished. 

"  The  Rev.  Enoch  Huntington,  who  entered  upon  the  rector- 
ship in  1827,  began  parish  records,  and,  upon  the  first  page, 
states  that  there  was  a  congregation  of  about  thirty.  No 
Sunday  school,  and  no  music.  Also  the  church  was  in  need  of 
repair,  but  he  concluded  not  to  spend  much  upon  it,  but  later 
to  build  a  new  church,  the  third  one  of  the  society.  The  new 
rector  soon  gained  the  love  and  esteem  of  the  people  in  gen- 
eral, and  the  attendance  of  young  people  became  a  prominent 
feature  in  his  ministry.  So  devoted  were  his  people,  that  they 
are  spoken  of,  when  the  church  roof  was  old  and  leaky,  as 
sitting  in  their  pews  during  a  shower,  with  their  umbrellas 
up,  listening  to  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God.  A  bell 
was  placed  in  this  old  church  steeple,  the  first  one  the  church 
possessed.  In  1837  a  new  church  was  erected  on  the  east 
side  of  Main  Street  at  the  corner  of  what  is  now  called  Church 
Street.  This  church  was  a  frame  building,  with  long  win- 
dows, square  at  the  top.  It  had  a  square  tower  upon  it,  and, 
within,  a  gallery  around  three  sides,  a  massive  mahogany  pul- 
pit, reading  desk  below,  and  a  small  mahogany  communion 
table  in  front,  with  two  mahogany  chairs  on  either  side,  a 
communion  rail  enclosing  them.  A  vestry-room  was  built 
in  the  rear,  and  the  rector  entered  the  pulpit  from  stairs  in 
the  vestry-room,  and  appeared  through  a  door  cut  in  the 
wall  behind  the  pulpit. 

"  The  pulpit  and  reading  desk  were  covered  with  cushions  of 
black  silk  velvet,  with  heavy  silk-corded  fringe  across  the 
front,  and  large  silk  tassels  suspended  at  the  corners.  There 
was  a  sofa  seat  behind  the  reading  desk  attached  to  the 
pulpit. 

"  The  pews  had  doors  with  large  black  tin  plates  attached 
with  numbers  on.  This  church  was  considered  very  handsome 
in  its  furnishings,  and  was  the  pride  of  both  rector  and  people. 
It  was  furnished  with  a  new  bell,  and  into  this  came  the  first 
organ  owned  by  Saint  John's  Church.  Rev.  Mr.  Huntington 
resigned  in  1848,  and,  after  his  decease  several  years  later, 
was  brought  here  and  buried  in  the  village  cemetery,  having 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES 

this  honorable  record — of  being  the  rector  of  Saint  John's 
Parish  longer  than  any  other  clergyman  from  its  beginning 
to  the  present  day. 

"  During  the  incumbency  of  Rev.  William  H.  Reese,  I  was 
baptized  in  that  old  church,  out  of  the  silver  bowl  placed  on 
the  communion  table.  When  I  was  a  little  child,  I  well  re- 
member how  Bishop  Brownell  catechised  the  children,  standing 
about  the  chancel  rail,  but,  perhaps,  as  I  grew  older,  the  most 
vivid  impression  made  upon  me  was  the  preparation  for,  and 
attendance  upon,  the  old-time  Christmas  Eve  service.  Ever- 
greens were  gathered  upon  the  Plains,  and  the  people  assembled 
at  Mr.  George  McMahon's  to  tie  them.  They  were  gathered 
in  Aspetuck,  and  the  people  assembled  at  Mr.  Marshall  Hill's 
or  Mr.  Stephen  Morehouse's.  They  were  gathered  at  the 
village,  and  the  people  assembled  at  the  house  of  my  father. 
Noble  S.  Bennitt,  on  Bennitt  Street.  The  refreshments  con- 
sisted of  a  pan  of  doughnuts,  round  and  sugared.  The  crack- 
ing fire  on  the  hearth  consumed  the  broken  branches,  and  the 
young  people  remained  for  a  social  time  after  their  elders 
had  departed.  Such  large  ropes  of  evergreens  were  tied,  and 
afterwards  suspended  from  corner  to  corner  of  the  church, 
and  all  around  the  walls,  and  in  front  of  the  gallery ! 

"  White  covers  of  bleached  muslin  covered  the  pulpit  and 
reading  desk,  to  which  were  attached  fringes  made  of  the 
needles  of  the  pine,  by  Miss  Bostwick,  afterwards  Mrs.  Leroy 
Buck.  Mottoes  of  evergreen  on  white  cloth  were  put  up  on 
the  walls,  and  candelabra,  of  five  candles  each,  across  the  ends 
of  the  pulpit  and  desk  cushions.  Miss  Cornelia  Boardman 
brought  a  large  fluid  lamp  with  a  glass  globe  and  put  it  on 
the  communion  table.  The  people  reserved  their  whitest  and 
purest  tallow  to  make  dipped  candles  to  hang  up  in  tin  back 
candlesticks  under  the  gallery,  while  Edgar  and  Henry  Wells 
made  a  great  star  of  five  points,  covered  it  with  evergreens, 
and  suspended  it  from  the  ceiling  in  the  middle  of  the  church, 
containing  as  many  candles  as  it  was  the  year  of  the  century. 
This  was  the  only  time  in  the  year  that  the  church  was  lighted 
up,  and  the  people  of  the  town  turned  out  and  filled  the  church 
and  its  galleries  to  overflowing.  The  good  old  Christmas 


222  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Eve  service  of  the  old  times,  who  that  was  then  alive  shall 
ever  forget  it! 

"  But  the  solemnity  of  the  old-time  Sunday  comes  up  with 
all  its  hallowed  associations.  The  Sunday  church  bells,  with 
the  orderly  ringing  and  tolling  of  their  first  bells  and  last  bells ; 
with  their  solemn  tolling  for  a  death — nine  for  a  man,  seven  for 
a  woman,  five  for  a  boy,  three  for  a  girl ! 

"  The  sleigh  bells,  too,  bass  ones  and  tenor  ones,  jingling  all 
the  week  in  the  winter  time,  but  no  sleigh  bells  on  Sunday!  I 
well  remember  when  two  young  men,  in  their  want  of  respect 
for  the  traditions  of  Sunday,  drove  through  the  village  street 
with  sleigh  bells  on  their  horse  on  the  Lord's  Day,  thereby 
shocking  the  sober-minded  people  of  the  churches  and  the 
town. 

"  The  social  gatherings  of  the  people  come  back  to  one,  as 
he  recalls  the  old  times,  also.  The  annual  donation  parties 
given  by  the  parishioners  to  their  parsons,  when,  it  used  to  be 
said,  '  The  people  would  bring  all  kinds  of  good  things  to 
the  parsonage,  and  then  remain  for  a  good  social  time,  spread 
all  the  good  things  brought  for  a  feast,  and  then  largely 
consume  them  before  they  departed.' 

"  Other  social  gatherings  had  their  attractions  for  the  peo- 
ple, but  I  recall  one  which  was  to  occur,  but  never  took  place. 

"  It  was  on  the  coldest  day  of  February,  1860,  when,  in  large 
sleighs,  a  company  of  people  set  out  for  a  dinner  party  to  be 
given  upon  the  Plains.  As  they  passed  down  the  Main  Street, 
the  bell  of  Saint  John's  Church  was  tolling  for  a  funeral 
about  to  be  held  within  it.  It  was  thereupon  agreed  to  stop 
and  attend  the  services,  warm  themselves  by  the  fire,  and  then 
proceed  on  their  journey.  .  .  .  The  clergyman  took  for 
the  text  of  his  funeral  sermon,  which  in  those  days  was  a 
very  dignified  discourse,  *  It  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of 
mourning,  than  to  go  to  the  house  of  feasting:  for  this  is 
the  end  of  all  men,  and  the  living  will  lay  it  to  heart.'  Con- 
sternation filled  the  hearts  of  all.  The  women  and  the  chil- 
dren remained  in  the  church  by  the  fire,  and  the  men  went  to 
the  village  cemetery  to  assist  in  the  burial;  after  which  all 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  223 

returned  to  their  homes.  The  effect  of  the  sermon  had  been 
marvelous,  and  the  living  had  laid  it  to  heart.  The  funeral 
was  that  of  the  widow  of  Dr.  Amaziah  Wright. 

"  Rev.  Charles  G.  Acly,  who  became  the  rector  in  1856, 
wrought  a  good  work  here,  and,  under  him,  the  church  was 
enlarged  in  the  summer  of  I860,  by  the  nave  being  extended 
nearly  twice  its  length.  A  recess  chancel  was  added,  and  a 
stained-glass  chancel  window  given,  as  a  memorial  of  the  Hon. 
Elijah  and  Mary  Anna  Boardman — the  first  stained-glass  win- 
dow in  the  town.  The  old  mahogany  pulpit  was  made  into  an 
altar.  There  was  an  altar  cloth  of  red  which  served  for  the 
whole  year,  a  beautiful  reading  desk  and  pulpit  combined, 
which  stood  outside  the  chancel  rail,  and,  in  the  center,  before 
the  altar,  given  by  Mr.  Solomon  E.  Bostwick,  a  pedestal  with 
a  marble  bowl  for  a  font. 

"  In  this  church  I  began  my  first  work  in  the  Church  of  God 
by  blowing  the  first  organ  the  church  ever  owned,  and  Miss 
Schroder,  now  Mrs.  George  W.  Wright,  was  the  organist  at 
that  time.  We  sang  the  Metrical  Psalms  and  the  few  hymns 
then  bound  up  with  the  Prayer  Book.  The  Te  Deum  was  gen- 
erally read,  but  on  high  occasions  we  rendered  Jackson's  Te 
Deum.  The  old  Gloria  in  Excelsis  was  always  sung  at  the 
end  of  the  Psalm  for  the  Day  in  the  afternoon,  and  sometimes 
Greatore's  Bonum  est  and  Benedicite  after  the  Lesson.  On 
Communion  Day,  once  a  month,  after  sermon,  the  choir  came 
down  in  the  body  of  the  church,  and  there  was  no  music.  But 
Easter  was  distinguished  by  the  choir  remaining  in  the  gal- 
lery and  singing  the  Sanctus.  In  that  church,  I  was  confirmed 
and  ordained  to  the  holy  ministry  by  Bishop  John  Williams, 
and,  to  that  church,  I  came  afterwards  to  preach  my  first 
sermon  in  my  native  town.  One  can  hardly  imagine  my  feel- 
ings, as  I  came  to  stand  for  the  first  time  before  my  elders, 
teachers,  kindred,  and  those  to  whom  I  had  looked  up  from 
childhood.  It  was  a  trying  moment.  I  preached  a  written 
sermon,  for  fear  I  might  be  embarrassed.  When  it  was  all 
over,  and  some  one  in  the  churchyard,  during  the  noon  hour, 
ventured  to  call  it  a  good  sermon,  one  of  the  men  spoke  up 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

and  said,  '  Yes,  if  he  wrote  it!  '  Surely,  '  A  prophet  is  not 
without  honor,  save  in  his  own  country,  and  among  his  own 
kin.'  Stirred  by  this  remark,  which  came  to  my  knowledge,  I 
preached  without  notes  that  afternoon,  and  did  the  same  upon 
every  visit  to  New  Milford  for  many  years  following. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Acly  was  a  good  man,  and  a  conscientious 
priest  of  the  Church  of  God ;  painstaking  in  his  sermon  prep- 
aration, a  good  reader  and  preacher,  while  as  a  pastor  he 
went  in  and  out  among  his  people  for  twenty  years  beloved 
by  them.  He  resigned  in  1876,  but  continued  to  reside  here 
until  his  death  in  1880,  and  he  was  buried  in  the  village  ceme- 
tery, awaiting  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

"  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Alfred  S.  Clark,  who  was 
rector  from  1876  to  1879.  While  his  stay  was  only  four 
years,  yet  he  is  remembered  with  much  affection.  The  Rev. 
Edward  L.  Wells,  D.  D.,  became  the  next  rector,  whose  elo- 
quence can  never  be  forgotten,  and  by  him  was  started  the 
project  of  building  a  new  stone  church  for  Saint  John's 
Parish.  Plans  were  drawn  and  accepted,  but,  in  less  than  a 
year,  he  was  removed  by  death,  in  1880. 

"  Rev.  Edwin  R.  Browne  succeeded  him,  and,  as  the  contract 
for  the  new  church  had  already  been  made,  he  carefully  at- 
tended to  its  erection.  This  was  carried  forward  for  two 
years,  and  entirely  paid  for  by  the  congregation,  so  that  on 
Thursday,  the  fifteenth  day  of  March,  1883,  we  all  assembled 
to  take  part  in  its  consecration. 

"  The  Rt.  Rev.  John  Williams,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Connecticut, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Quintard,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Tennessee, 
and  thirty  of  the  clergy  of  this  and  other  dioceses,  met  to 
put  on  their  vestments  in  the  old  church,  before  proceeding  to 
the  new.  The  emotions  which  filled  my  soul  on  that  day  were 
many  and  varied.  It  was  the  last  act  to  be  performed  in  the 
old  Saint  John's  Church.  I  went  into  our  old  family  pew, 
where  I  had  grown  up  to  manhood,  and,  there,  I  put  on  my 
vestments.  I  went  up  to  the  chancel  rail  and,  kneeling  down, 
offered  the  last  prayer  in  that  old  church — where  I  had  first 
heard  the  service  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  first  listened 


THE  SUNDAY  EXERCISES  225 

to  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God, — whose  walls  had  wit- 
nessed my  baptism,  my  confirmation,  and  my  ordination  to 
the  holy  ministry — and  I  said,  '  Oh,  to  have  enduring  churches 
of  stone,  where  the  holy  associations  of  a  lifetime  may  never 
be  disturbed ! '  It  was  this  thought  which  led  me  forth  to 
assist  in  the  services  of  the  consecration  of  the  new  Saint 
John's  Church  of  stone,  where  the  services  might  hereafter 
continue,  undisturbed,  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
vested  procession  of  bishops  and  clergy  walked  from  the  old 
church  to  the  new.  The  day  was  full  of  sunlight,  and  even 
the  March  winds  seemed  to  cease,  so  as  to  give  us  Heaven's 
own  benediction.  We  entered  this  beautiful  stone  church, 
filled  with  a  congregation  which  occupied  its  whole  capacity. 
Bishop  Williams  then  consecrated  this  new  Saint  John's 
Church,  and  called  upon  me  to  read  the  sentence  of  consecration. 

"  That  day  was  the  greatest  red  letter  day  this  parish  ever 
saw — twenty-five  years  ago,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  March 
next! 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Browne  continued  his  ministry  here  until 
1890.  He  was  a  most  indefatigable  parish  visitor,  and  the 
sympathy  of  his  people  and  their  prayers  followed  him,  in 
the  affliction  which  afterward  came  upon  him. 

"  He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  E.  T.  Sanford,  who  was  the 
rector  from  1891  to  1895,  a  man  of  exceedingly  lovable  char- 
acter, who  endeared  himself  to  all. 

"  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Plumb  in  1896,  who 
after  eleven  years  still  continues  in  the  rectorship.  His  char- 
acter and  ability  are  so  well  known  among  his  people,  that  it 
would  not  become  me  to  enter  into  them  here.  Suffice  it,  then, 
to  say,  that  he  is  held  in  such  honor  and  respect  by  his  brethren 
of  the  clergy  of  his  Diocese,  that  they  elected  him  Archdcnron 
of  Litchfield  County  some  years  ago,  which  position  he  now 
holds  with  honor  to  himself,  and  with  appreciation  by  his  par- 
ish and  friends.  May  he  long  continue  to  go  in  and  out  among 
you  as  your  rector,  pastor,  friend,  and  long  continue  to  oc- 
cupy his  high  and  honorable  position,  as  the  venerable  Arch- 
deacon of  Litchfield  County." 


THE    AUTOMOBILE    PARADE 

No  feature  of  the  whole  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  partook 
so  much  of  the  nature  of  an  experiment,  perhaps,  as  the  Auto- 
mobile Parade  of  Monday,  which  took  place  a  little  before 
noon.  It  was  the  first  event  of  the  kind  that  had  ever  occurred 
in  New  Milford,  and  there  were  consequently  no  precedents 
to  go  by.  It  was,  however,  an  unqualified  success.  Fifteen  deco- 
rated autos,  followed  by  nearly  a  score  without  decorations, 
were  in  line.  The  owners  of  the  decorated  autos  were: 

Henry  D.  Hine,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

Geo.  T.  Soule,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

A.  N.  Trott,  Waterbury,  Conn. 

H.  L.  Randall,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

Edward  S.  Hine,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Isaac  B.  Bristol,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

Jas.  S.  Robertson,  Pittsfield,  Mass. 

John  Bauman,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

E.  M.  Watson,  Sr.,  Jersey  City. 

C.  F.  Long,  Jersey  City. 

Peter  Peterson,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

C.  W.  Lines,  New  Britain,  Conn. 

J.  E.  Murphy,  Southbury,  Conn. 

H.  Lake,  Brookfield,  Conn. 

Robert  Dunlap,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

The  judges  were  George  B.  Noble  of  Northampton,  Mass., 
Mrs.  Dr.  Wallace  of  Glen  Ridge,  N.  J.,  and  Miss  Beatrice 
Fisher  of  Montreal,  Canada. 

The  three  prizes  (silver  cups)  were  awarded  as  follows: 
Henry  D.  Hine,  New  Milford,  first;  A.  N.  Trott,  Waterbury, 
Conn.,  second;  Mrs.  Isaac  B.  Bristol,  New  Milford,  third. 
Robert  Dunlap  was  given  a  special  honorable  mention. 

226 


THE  AUTOMOBILE  PARADE 

The  decoration  of  Mr.  Henry  Hine's  car  was  very  dainty 
and  elaborate.  It  was  done  in  white,  pink,  and  purple.  In 
front  of  the  chauffeur  was  a  Cupid,  driving  three  white  doves 
with  white  and  purple  ribbons.  Before  the  machine  were 
banners  inscribed  with  the  figures  1707-1907.  The  tonneau 
was  banked  with  evergreens  and  wild  flowers.  The  rear  tire 
on  the  tonneau  was  covered  with  a  wreath  of  evergreens,  in 
the  center  of  which  was  suspended  a  Cupid  with  bow  and 
arrow.  The  chauffeur  and  the  lady  passengers  wore  white 
and  pink. 

Mr.  Trott's  car  bore  a  canopy  of  salmon  pink,  olive  green, 
and  white  crepe  paper  flowers,  and  carried  as  passengers 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bragaw  in  Colonial  attire.  The  wheels  and  the 
back  of  the  tonneau  were  similarly  decorated  with  crepe  paper. 

Mrs.  Bristol's  car  was  decorated  with  laurel,  ferns,  and 
white  daisies,  supplemented  by  yellow  and  white  bunting,  and 
carried  several  passengers  in  white,  with  daisies  in  their  hair. 

Mr.  Dunlap's  car  was  literally  covered  with  grass-green 
and  white  draperies  and  bore  an  arch  of  these  colors.  Its  lady 
passengers  wore  white  gowns  and  white  picture  hats  trimmed 
with  green. 

Mr.  Peterson's  car,  with  a  colossal  figure  of  Uncle  Sam, 
and  Mr.  Randall's  with  festoons  of  lemons,  gave  rise  to  much 
merriment.  The  other  cars  were  decorated  with  flags  and 
bunting;  Colonial  blue  and  yellow  bunting;  white  and  pale- 
green  bunting ;  daisies  and  flags ;  peonies  and  daisies.  The 
party-colored  cars  presented  a  brilliant  and  beautiful  picture, 
as  they  coursed  rapidly  round  and  round  "  The  Green,"  and 
evoked  many  outbursts  of  hearty  applause. 


THE    HISTORICAL   MEETING 

THE  Historical  Meeting  of  Monday  afternoon,  the  next  im- 
portant event  in  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration,  was  presided 
over  by  Frederic  M.  Williams.  Mr.  Williams,  after  a 
few  genial  words  of  greeting,  introduced,  as  the  first  speaker, 
Dr.  Samuel  Hart,  President  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society,  explaining,  as  he  did  so,  that  New  Milford  wel- 
comes her  guests,  not  only  with  the  best  that  she  has,  but 
with  the  best  that  there  is. 
Dr.  Hart  spoke  as  follows: 

"  The  recurring  anniversaries  of  the  towns  of  our  ancient 
State  are  bringing  before  us,  as  in  a  series  of  living  pictures, 
the  history  of  the  whole  commonwealth  and  of  all  its  parts. 
Beginning,  within  the  easy  memory  of  many  now  living,  with 
the  quarter-mi llennials  of  the  first  settled  towns,  Hartford  and 
its  sister  towns  on  the  Great  River,  Saybrook  at  its  mouth, 
New  Haven  on  its  fair  harbor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Quinnipiac, 
and  then  its  allied  towns,  Guilford  to  the  east  and  Milford,  your 
mother-city,  to  the  west,  we  are  passing  now  to  the  bi-centen- 
nials  of  those,  the  history  of  which  begins  in  the  opening  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Our  origins  have  been  brought 
before  us,  and  we  have  studied  again  the  men  and  the  times, 
the  founders  of  our  first  colonies  and  the  foundations  which 
they  laid,  the  early  history  of  two  differently  ordered  federa- 
tions or  groups  of  organized  communities,  and  their  union 
into  one  government  under  a  charter  from  the  English  king 
which  made  them  almost  independent  of  his  authority.  We  are 
passing  on  now  to  another  period,  when,  under  varied  influences 
and  in  changed  circumstances,  many  of  our  most  beautiful  and 
prosperous  towns  were  founded.  Two  years  ago  Newtown, 
which  once  had  part  of  its  boundary-line  in  common  with  you, 

228 


THE  HISTORICAL,  MEETING  229 

observed  its  bi-centennial ;  and  the  two-hundredth  anniversaries 
of  Derby  and  Woodbury  and  Waterbury  and  Danbury — to 
mention  only  those  in  this  neighborhood — were  earlier  than 
that. 

"  There  was  a  movement  of  life  into  this  part  of  Connecti- 
cut, the  meaning  and  result  of  which  will  be  brought  before 
you  by  those  who  have  studied  it  in  its  details,  and  can  describe 
it  with  local  color.  Without  repeating  or  anticipating  their 
words,  I  may  venture  to  ask  you  to  think  of  the  difference 
which  a  little  more  than  seventy  years  had  made  in  the  motives 
that  swayed  men's  minds,  and  the  impressions  that  were  made 
on  them  by  the  new  lands  which  they  occupied.  One  thinks  of 
the  stern  resolve,  both  political  and  ecclesiastical,  which  sent 
Hooker  and  his  company  on  their  long  walk  through  the  wil- 
derness till  they  came  to  the  river  and  crossed  it  into  a  strange 
land,  with  a  determination  like  that  of  the  father  of  the 
faithful  when  he  crossed  the  great  river  of  the  eastern  world ; 
and  then  one  questions  whether  they  admired  the  beauty  of 
the  meadows,  and  one  feels  sure  that  when  they  climbed  the 
hills  and  looked  down  into  the  more  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Tunxis,  they  were  drawn  by  it  to  travel  still  further  west. 
One  follows  in  mind  the  military  instinct  which  saw  the  im- 
portance of  the  control  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  built  a 
fort  at  its  mouth,  and  levied  dues  on  traffic  and  transportation, 
and  laid  out  streets  for  the  houses  of  people  of  quality  who  were 
expected  to  come  to  dwell  there.  And  one  thinks  of  the  sur- 
prises which  befell  those  who  sailed  slowly  along  the  shore  of 
the  Sound,  looking  into  inlet  and  bay,  and  finding  at  the  Fair 
Haven  a  place  where  they  might  build  a  city  after  the  pattern 
of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  in  it  dwell  and  get  gain. 

"  In  each  of  these  early  instances  there  was  an  element  of 
romance,  of  strong  conviction  of  duty,  mingled  with  an  appre- 
ciation alike  of  the  beautiful  and  the  practical,  that  combina- 
tion which,  as  Horace  told  us  long  ago,  '  carries  every  vote.' 
To  some  extent  this  had  passed  away  two  hundred  years  ago, 
when  possession  was  taken  of  the  farming  lands,  and  the  fair, 
though  rugged,  hillsides  enclosing  the  river  valley  in  which  we 


230  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

now  stand.  The  settlers,  who  came  up  into  the  high  grounds 
from  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  did  not  leave,  for  the  most  part, 
on  account  of  disagreement  with  their  neighbors  in  matters 
civil  or  ecclesiastical,  nor  with  a  special  sense  of  divine  calling 
or  mission.  They  were  rather  led  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  spirit 
of  colonization  to  settle  on  new  soil,  to  extend  former  indus- 
tries or  to  undertake  new  ones,  and  to  organize  new  units  of 
life  in  the  body  politic.  Still,  we  cannot  doubt  that  when 
they,  too,  looked  over  the  fields  they  saw  more  than  the  possi- 
bility of  gathering  harvests  and  crops  from  them,  and  that 
when  they  followed  the  water-courses  they  did  more  than 
estimate  the  use  which  they  might  make  of  the  force  of  the 
falling  stream.  They  had  something  of  the  enthusiasm  of  dis- 
covery, and  something  of  the  joy  of  those  who  first  turn  na- 
ture's forces  to  man's  account.  It  is  worth  our  while,  as  we 
go  back  in  mind  to  these  beginnings,  to  try  to  think  as  they 
thought,  who  first  looked  upon  the  natural  features  of  the 
landscape,  which  it  takes  much  more  than  two  centuries  mate- 
rially to  change,  and  to  see  why  they  chose  as  they  did,  who 
fixed  on  this  spot  as  their  home. 

"  In  this  regard,  there  is  in  all  our  settlements,  early  and 
late,  something  that  they  have  in  common,  which  appeals  more, 
I  am  inclined  to  think,  to  the  philosopher  than  to  the  historian. 
Perhaps  the  student  of  history  delights  rather  in  noting  the 
differences  in  the  plans  and  purposes  of  those  who  settled  our 
early  towns,  and  in  finding  in  each,  as  he  readily  may,  some 
detail  of  character  or  event  which  marks  it  with  a  special  in- 
terest, and  almost  always  brings  in  the  suggestion  of  a  special 
romance.  As  your  early  history  is  read  before  you  to-day  in 
detail,  you  are  reminded  how  it  differs  from  the  history  of 
every  other  town  in  Connecticut.  At  its  beginning  you  hear 
of  names  which  give  it  a  stamp  peculiarly  its  own :  that  of  the 
first  minister,  continued  by  an  honorable  succession  through 
all  the  generations  to  this  day;  that  of  the  early  settler  who 
lived  here  in  a  log  hut  on  land  which  he  had  bought  of  the 
Indians  and  lived  to  be  Attorney  General  of  Massachusetts ; 
somewhat  later,  that  of  the  man  who  came  here  as  a  shoemaker 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  231 

and  removed  hence  as  a  judge,  to  become  one  of  the  few  lead- 
ers in  the  constitutional  history  of  the  land ;  and  with  them  the 
names  of  others  which  shed  a  special  luster  on  your  annals. 
Again,  the  importance  of  the  Indians  in  this  neighborhood, 
both  in  numbers  and  (as  it  would  seem)  in  influence  and  char- 
acter, suggests  an  almost  unique  chapter  of  history,  especially 
when  we  note  that  it  led  to  the  sojourn  of  the  remarkable  man 
who  led  hither  his  band  of  Moravian  missionaries  and  labored 
not  in  vain  among  the  aborigines  before  he  withdrew  to  make 
a  permanent  settlement  in  another  province,  and  later  to  return 
to  his  home  in  Europe.  And,  if  you  care  to  boast  of  it,  you 
share  with  but  one  or  two  other  towns  the  honor  of  having 
had  congregations  of  the  Glassites — who  under  their  name  of 
Sandemanians  will  always  be  remembered  for  having  had  in 
their  eldership  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  science  of  a  genera- 
tion ago — and  you  have  the  exclusive  honor  of  having  been 
the  home  of  the  Jemimaites.  Certainly,  no  two  communities 
are  exactly  alike,  and  it  is  in  the  study  of  their  differences  that 
much  of  our  pleasure  in  the  reading  of  their  history  consists. 
"  While  I  bring  to  you  to-day,  Mr.  President,  a  greeting 
on  behalf  of  the  Historical  Society  of  the  State,  I  venture 
to  ask  you  and  all  the  citizens  of  this  venerable  town,  and 
all  who  are  interested  in  her  annals  already  written,  and  in 
the  record  which  she  is  to  make  in  years  to  come,  not  to  allow 
the  interest  of  these  memorial  days  to  pass  away  with  the  days 
themselves.  This  week  is  bringing  to  the  memory  of  some 
of  you  that  which  you  have  already  heard  with  your  ears  and 
your  fathers  have  declared  unto  you,  while  it  is  teaching  many 
others,  and  in  particular  the  youths  and  maidens,  their  first 
lessons  in  the  history  of  the  community  in  which  their  lot  is 
cast.  The  story  of  the  founders  and  those  who  carried  on 
their  work,  who  they  were  and  what  they  did,  what  New  Mil- 
ford  was  in  itself  and  what  part  it  played  in  the  State  and  the 
Republic,  told  again  now  in  greater  detail  than  it  has  ever 
been  told  before — do  not  let  it  be  soon  or  readily  forgotten. 
See  to  it  that  the  whole  town  becomes  a  sort  of  historical  so- 
ciety, for  the  appreciation  and  preservation  of  that  which  is 


232  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

old,  for  the  lending  of  a  proper  perspective  to  that  which 
belongs  to  our  own  day,  for  preparation  rightly  to  understand 
and  rightly  to  value  and  use  that  which  is  coming.  They  best 
do  the  duties  of  the  present,  they  best  provide  for  the  future, 
who  read  and  value  the  lessons  of  the  past." 

The  second  speaker,  Chief  Justice  Baldwin,  was  presented 
to  the  audience  by  Mr.  Williams  with  these  words :  "  New 
Milford  has  had  many  notable  and  useful  citizens  during  her 
two  centuries  of  existence,  but  she  has  had  none  as  illustrious  as 
Roger  Sherman.  We  have  with  us  to-day  one  of  his  descend- 
ants, Simeon  E.  Baldwin,  LL.  D.,  Ex-President  of  the  American 
Bar  Association,  Ex-President  of  the  American  Historical  So- 
ciety, Ex-President  of  the  International  Law  Association,  and 
Chief  Justice  of  Connecticut,  who  will  now  address  you. 

Chief  Justice  Baldwin  then  delivered  the  following  address 
on  "  ROGEE  SHERMAN  " : 

"  The  rarest  and  most  ill-defined  class  of  human  beings  is 
that  of  great  men.  Only  those  belong  to  it  who  have  done  a 
great  work  in  a  great  way.  The  '  mute,  inglorious  Milton  ' 
is  not  to  be  reckoned  among  them.  They  number  none,  how- 
ever great  their  natural  gifts  or  acquired  attainments,  who 
have  not  made  for  themselves,  by  their  own  merits,  a  place 
in  the  history  of  their  times.  It  is  from  their  lives,  indeed,  that 
history  gains  its  color  and  its  inspiration. 

"  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  New  Milford  to  be  the  home 
of  such  a  man  in  the  middle  of  her  first  century  of  existence. 

"  It  was  a  hundred  and  sixty-four  years  ago,  this  very  month 
that  a  tall  and  well-set  young  fellow  of  two  and  twenty  ended 
in  this  town  a  toilsome  journey,  taken  on  foot  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Boston.  He  had  come  to  make  New  Milford  his 
home,  bringing  on  his  back  the  tools  of  his  trade — that  of  a 
shoemaker — and  with  their  aid  he  here  gained  for  a  year  or 
two  an  honest  livelihood. 

"  A  shoemaker  and  the  son  of  a  shoemaker,  he  had,  and  felt 
he  had,  capabilities  for  a  larger  work.  His  mind  was  already 


HONORABLE    SIMEON    E.    BALDWIN 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut 


THE  HISTORICAL,  MEETING  833 

set  on  that  of  a  surveyor.  For  this,  too,  he  fitted  himself 
well ;  but  there  was  that  before  him  of  which  he  did  not  think. 
He  was  to  fill  a  long  succession  of  official  trusts,  affecting  all 
the  Colonies  and  the  States  which  succeeded  them,  to  be  bestowed 
upon  him  at  a  time  of  great  events,  and  to  be  so  well  discharged 
as  to  make  him  one  of  the  great  figures  of  American  history. 

"  When  Connecticut,  a  few  years  ago,  was  called  upon  by 
the  nation  to  choose  the  two  of  her  sons  whose  statues  should 
be  set  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  there  could  be  no  question 
as  to  one.  The  land  of  steady  habits  must,  at  all  events,  be 
represented  in  that  place  by  Jonathan  Trumbull,  the  War 
Governor  of  the  Revolution, — the  Brother  Jonathan  who  typi- 
fied to  the  nation  the  rugged  virtues  and  hard  good  sense  of  the 
New  England  character. 

"  The  other  statue  also  must  belong  to  the  same  great  era, 
the  era  which  began  with  the  struggle  for  independence,  and 
closed  with  the  attainment  of  settled  constitutional  govern- 
ment. Our  heroes  must  be  taken  from  that  which  above  all 
others  was  our  heroic  age.  Should  we  thus  commemorate  the 
impetuous  gallantry  of  Putnam,  the  noble  death  of  Hale,  the 
courtly  eloquence  of  Johnson,  the  judicial  power  of  Ellsworth? 
All  these  were  sons  of  Connecticut,  born  upon  her  soil.  No. 
She  chose  one  born  and  bred  to  manhood  in  another  State ; 
not  trained  at  her  college,  nor  at  her  schools ;  not  at 
any  schools.  She  sought  to  put  the  form  and  features  of 
Roger  Sherman  into  marble,  to  show  to  all  time  what  qualities 
and  achievements  the  people  of  Connecticut  hold  in  most  honor. 
This  man,  without  eloquence,  with  no  advantages  of  education, 
with  no  grace  of  manner,  was  her  choice — taken  from  many, 
for  solid  qualities,  not  shining  ones;  for  a  life-long  love  of 
liberty,  but  only  as  it  was  regulated  by  law;  for  steadfast 
devotion  to  duty ;  for  practical  sagacity ;  for  calm,  and  sound 
judgment  in  things  both  small  and  great.  Such  a  character 
wears  well.  It  is  men  of  this  stamp  that  have  made  Connecti- 
cut what  she  is. 

"  Roger  Sherman  was  born  to  a  great  opportunity.  So 
was  every  child  born  in  the  American  colonies  during  the  years 


234  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

between  1720  and  1760.  Those  colonies  were  then  assuming 
proportions  inconsistent  with  the  long  maintenance  of  British 
dominion  over  a  territory  so  distant  and  a  people  so  enterpris- 
ing and  intelligent.  The  day  was  soon  to  come  when  they 
would  strike  for  liberty.  Who  were  to  be  the  leaders,  then? 

"  Massachusetts  was  to  furnish  her  full  share,  and  two  of 
them  grew  up,  in  neighboring  towns,  to  begin  life  as  appren- 
tices and  end  it  as  statesmen. 

"  Franklin  was  already  at  work  in  a  Boston  printing  office, 
when  Sherman,  in  1721,  was  born  in  Newton.  Neither  had 
Any  advantages  of  education.  Franklin's  schooling  ended  when 
he  was  about  ten,  and  Sherman  was  apprenticed  to  a  shoe- 
maker and  began  to  learn  his  trade  at  an  age  not  much  greater. 
He  had  hardly  acquired  it  when  his  father,  then  living  at 
Stoughton,  Massachusetts,  died,  and  he  found,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  that  the  main  charge  of  a  numerous  family  of  younger 
brothers  and  sisters,  as  well  as  of  his  mother,  must  thence- 
forward rest  upon  his  shoulders.  Three  years  of  struggle  upon 
the  small  farm,  which  his  father  left,  satisfied  him  that  to  sup- 
port this  load  he  must  seek  some  more  remunerative  employment. 

"  An  elder  brother  had  previously  removed  to  this  town, 
then  a  frontier  settlement.  Connecticut  was  the  West  of  that 
day  to  the  towns  of  eastern  Massachusetts.  It  was  the  place 
for  more  than  century  where  many  of  the  most  active  and 
enterprising  sons  of  the  older  colony  had  gone  to  found  new 
homes  and  breathe  a  freer  air.  Connecticut,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, had  preserved  her  charter  and  elected  her  own  govern- 
ors. Massachusetts,  for  half  a  century,  had  received  hers 
from  the  crown. 

"  Sherman  resolved  to  join  his  brother,  and  the  whole  family 
were  united  in  New  Milford  in  1743.  From  the  early  years  of 
his  apprenticeship  he  had  been  in  the  habit,  as  he  bent  over 
his  last,  of  keeping  a  book  open  on  his  bench,  to  the  study  of 
which  he  gave  what  moments  he  could  occasionally  snatch  from 
his  work.  In  this  way,  and  in  his  hours  of  leisure,  he  had  been 
able  to  pick  up  the  elements  of  a  good  English  education,  and 
to  make  considerable  attainments  in  mathematics  and  plane 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING 

geometry.  One  object  of  his  removal  to  Connecticut  had  been 
to  put  this  knowledge  to  practical  use  by  engaging  in  the 
business  of  a  surveyor. 

"  Those  were  days  when  the  quick  division  of  land,  from  the 
great  blocks  included  in  colonial  patents  granted  for  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  township,  into  numerous  small  farms,  called  far 
more  frequently  than  now  for  the  services  of  men  who  could 
run  a  line  with  precision  and  describe  it  in  the  proper  terms 
of  art.  Within  two  years  from  his  arrival  at  New  Milford, 
he  had  fitted  himself  to  engage  in  this  business,  and  received 
from  the  General  Assembly  the  appointment  of  a  Surveyor  of 
Lands  for  the  County  of  New  Haven ;  for  New  Milford  was 
then  a  part  of  that  county,  Litchfield  County  not  having  been 
created  until  1751. 

"  This  office  of  County  Surveyor  was  a  responsible  one. 
Whoever  held  it  took  an  oath,  prescribed  by  statute,  to  dis- 
charge its  duties  '  without  Favour  or  Respect  to  Persons,' 
and,  if  he  had  occasion  to  employ  chainmen  for  his  assistance, 
was  to  administer  to  each  of  them  an  oath,  adjuring  them 
'  by  the  ever  living  God  '  to  keep  and  render  a  true  account 
of  whatever  lines  and  measures  they  might  take.* 

"  That  there  is  an  ever  living  God,  who  is  the  supreme  au- 
thority on  earth  as  in  heaven,  has  always  been  the  faith  of  Con- 
necticut, and  shines  through  all  her  statute  books.  From 
1640  down  to  the  present  hour  it  has  been  part  of  the  solemn 
ceremonial — solemn  to  those  who  stop  to  think  of  what  it  is 
and  what  it  means — of  admission  to  the  privileges  of  a  free- 
man or  elector,  that  every  man  shall  with  uplifted  hand  swear 
that  with  God's  help,  whenever  he  shall  be  called  to  give  his 
vote,  he  will  give  it  as  he  shall  judge  will  conduce  to  the  best 
good  of  the  commonwealth,  without  respect  of  persons  or 
favor  of  any  man.  How  many  of  us,  on  each  election  day,  be- 
think ourselves  of  the  high  obligation  to  which  we  have  thus 
pledged  ourselves,  and  ask  the  help  we  have  invoked  to  act 
our  part  as  voters  '  without  respect  of  persons  or  favor  of 
any  man ' ? 

"  I  doubt  if  Roger  Sherman,  as  a  County  Surveyor,  needed 
*  Conn.  Stat.,  Revision  of  1715,  pp.  110,  234. 


236  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

the  weight  of  an  official  oath  to  bind  him  to  his  duty,  but  I 
doubt  not  that  his  sense  of  duty  was  bottomed  on  a  sense  of 
God,  and  that  honesty  and  Christianity  were  to  him,  from 
boyhood  on,  one  and  inseparable. 

"  He  had  joined  the  Stoughton  church  a  few  weeks  before 
he  came  of  age.  It  was  a  time,  in  the  year  1742,  in  which  were 
gathered  in  the  fruits  of  religious  awakening  in  New  England. 
Our  churches  had  lapsed  into  formalism;  and  dogmatic  belief 
had  been  accorded  a  prominence  which  threw  Christian  conduct 
into  the  background.  Seventeen  hundred  forty-two  was  a 
marked  year  in  the  course  of  the  returning  tide  towards  better 
things. 

"  In  1749  Sherman  used  his  mathematical  attainments  for 
a  new  purpose.  He  prepared  an  almanac  for  1750,  which  was 
published  in  New  York,  and  was  the  first  of  a  series  which  he 
put  out  during  a  considerable  period  of  years. 

"  By  this  time  he  had  saved  some  money,  and,  in  1750,  we 
find  him  putting  part  of  his  capital,  in  partnership  with  his 
elder  brother,  into  a  country  store.  This  was  a  business  in 
which  he  was  interested  first  at  New  Milford,  and  then  at  New 
Haven,  with  a  branch  at  Wallingford,  for  more  than  twenty 
years. 

"  The  country  store  then,  as  now  in  the  more  thinly  settled 
communities,  was  in  miniature  the  department  store  of  our 
modern  cities.  There  were  few  of  them,  and  their  customers 
came  from  a  wide  circuit  of  country.  The  trade  was  largely 
one  of  barter.  The  farmer's  wife  drove  in  with  her  cheese 
and  butter,  and  might  go  back  with  stuff  for  a  dress,  a  box 
of  needles,  a  new  coffee-pot,  a  bottle  of  salts,  a  loaf  of  sugar, 
a  quintal  of  codfish,  and  perhaps  a  volume  of  sermons.  The 
store  was  not  daily  visited  by  drummers.  The  proprietor  went 
himself  every  few  months  to  Boston  or  Newport,  New  York 
or  Philadelphia,  to  replenish  his  stock,  and  with  every  such 
journey  found  his  mental  horizon  broadened,  and  felt  better 
acquainted  with  the  great  world  of  men  and  things  that  lay 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  neighborhood. 

"  Sherman,  from  the  first,  made  the  most  of  these  glimpses 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  237 

of  a  larger  life.  If  he  rode  down  to  New  Haven  to  buy  West 
India  molasses,  he  would  visit  the  college  to  ask  President  Clap's 
opinion  about  the  probable  course  of  an  expected  comet.*  If 
he  went  to  New  York  to  correct  the  proofs  of  his  almanac,  he 
would  take  the  opportunity  to  find  a  publisher  for  some  pam- 
phlet he  had  written  on  the  financial  errors  in  the  legislation 
of  the  day. 

"  Sherman,  by  this  time,  had  acquired  the  faculty,  rarer, 
perhaps,  then  than  now,  of  expressing  his  thoughts  in  writ- 
ing, in  a  fashion  that  was  simple,  clear,  and  straightforward. 
An  artificial,  overwrought,  and  overladen  style  of  composition, 
if  not  the  prevailing  one,  was  certainly  not  uncommon  among 
Americans  during  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He 
wrote,  as  Franklin  did,  in  the  plain  language  of  familiar  con- 
versation, with  no  straining  after  effect.  I  do  not  mean  that  he 
wrote  as  well  as  Franklin.  There  was  a  long,  long  interval  be- 
tween them ;  but  they  were  of  the  same  school.  Both  were  men 
who  thought  more  of  what  they  had  to  say  than  of  how  they 
said  it ;  of  communicating  facts  or  ideas,  rather  than  of  seeking 
to  make  them  attractive  by  ornament. 

"  Sherman's  reading  was  of  a  kind  that  both  strengthened 
and  disciplined  the  mind.  The  first  President  Dwight,  in 
summing  up  his  character,  emphasized  '  his  attachment  to 
books  of  real  use,'  adding  that  he  '  was,  what  very  few  men 
unacquainted  with  the  learned  languages  are,  accurately  skilled 
in  the  grammar  of  his  own  language.'j- 

"  It  is  probable,  however,  that  in  paying  this  tribute  to 
an  old  friend  who  had  passed  away,  President  Dwight  had  in 
mind  Sherman's  style  of  written  composition,  rather  than  his 
ordinary  manner  of  speech.  It  is  seldom  that  one  born  to 
poverty  and  denied  the  common  advantages  of  education, 
escapes  a  certain  rusticity,  to  say  the  least,  not  only  in  his 
choice  of  words  in  conversation,  but  in  their  arrangement  and 
pronunciation. 

"  A  franker,  and  I  dare  say  juster,  portrait  of  the  man  as 
he  appeared  in  public  discussions  and  debate  is  given  in  a  series 

*  Boutell's  Life  of  Roger  Sherman,  32. 
f  Dwight's  Travels,  IV,  299. 


238  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

of  rough  notes  of  the  doings  of  the  Convention  of  1787  which 
framed  our  national  Constitution,  made  by  one  of  the  Southern 
delegates,  William  Pierce  of  Georgia. 

"  'Mr.  Sherman,'  he  writes,  '  exhibits  the  oddest  shaped 
character  I  ever  remember  to  have  met  with.  He  is  awkward, 
un-meaning,  and  unaccountably  strange  in  his  manner.  But 
in  his  train  of  thinking  there  is  something  regular,  deep,  and 
comprehensive;  yet  the  oddity  of  his  address,  the  vulgarisms 
that  accompany  his  public  speaking,  and  that  strange  New 
England  cant  which  runs  through  his  public  as  well  as  his 
private  speaking  make  everything  that  is  connected  with  him 
grotesque  and  laughable; — and  yet  he  deserves  infinite  praise, 
— no  Man  has  a  better  Heart  or  a  clearer  Head.  If  he  cannot 
embellish  he  can  furnish  thoughts  that  are  wise  and  useful. 
He  is  an  able  politician,  and  extremely  artful  in  accomplishing 
any  particular  object;  it  is  remarked  that  he  seldom  fails. 
I  am  told  he  sits  on  the  Bench  in  Connecticut,  and  is  very 
correct  in  the  discharge  of  his  Judicial  functions.  In  the  early 
part  of  his  life  he  was  a  Shoe-maker ;  but,  despising  the  lowness 
of  his  condition,  he  turned  Almanack  maker,  and  so  progressed 
upwards  to  a  Judge.  He  has  been  several  years  a  Member  of 
Congress,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  his  Office  with  honor 
and  credit  to  himself,  and  advantage  to  the  State  he  repre- 
sented. He  is  about  60.' 

"  Silas  Deane,  his  colleague  in  the  Continental  Congress, 
in  a  frank  letter  to  his  wife,  thus  paints  Sherman,  as  he  ap- 
peared at  a  New  York  dinner  party: 

"  *  Mr.  Sherman  is  clever  in  private,  but  I  will  only  say  he 
is  as  badly  calculated  to  appear  in  such  a  Company  as  a 
chestnut-burr  is  for  an  eye-stone.  He  occasioned  some  shrewd 
countenances  among  the  company,  and  not  a  few  oaths,  by  the 
odd  questions  he  asked,  and  the  very  odd  and  countrified 
cadence  with  which  he  speaks ;  but  he  was,  and  did,  as  well  as 
I  expected.'  * 

"  In  the  same  letter  Deane  shows  his  vexation  at  Sherman's 
views  regarding  traveling  on  Sunday: 

" '  Mr.  Sherman  (would  to  Heaven  he  were  well  at  New 
*  Collections,  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  II,  145. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  239 

Haven,)  is  against  our  sending  our  carriages  over  the  ferry 
this  evening,  because  it  is  Sunday ;  so  we  shall  have  a  scorching 
sun  to  drive  forty  miles  in,  to-morrow.  I  wish  I  could  send 
you  his  picture,  and  make  it  speak,  and  in  the  background 
paint  the  observations  made  on  him  here.  But  enough  of  this 
at  present.  I  will  have  him  drawn  in  Philadelphia,  if  it  can 
be  done  at  any  reasonable  rate.'  * 

"  To  judge  these  criticisms  fairly  we  must  remember  that 
Deane  was  a  man  of  fashion  and  of  the  world,  while  Sherman 
was  neither.  A  plain  country  lad,  a  hardworking  journeyman 
at  his  trade,  a  busy  surveyor,  a  sagacious  selectman,  a  shrewd 
store-keeper,  a  hard-headed  lawyer,  an  industrious  judge,  he 
had  qualities  not  of  a  kind  that  shine  in  polite  society,  but  of  a 
kind  nevertheless  that  count  in  life,  in  every  position  which 
a  man  may  be  called  to  fill.  He  would  have  made  a  better  figure 
with  better  manners.  But  a  rusticity  that  would  have  ruined 
the  advance  of  most  men  was  everywhere  tolerated  in  Sherman, 
because  there  was  felt  everywhere  an  admiration  for  his  mind 
and  heart, — his  solid  sense,  wise  forecast,  and  practical  wisdom. 

"  While  living  in  this  town,  Sherman  was  asked  one  day  by 
a  neighbor,  the  next  time  he  went  to  the  county  seat,  to  retain 
counsel  for  him  to  bring  a  petition  to  court  in  a  matter  con- 
nected with  the  settlement  of  an  estate.  He  noted  down  the 
facts  which  he  thought  it  would  be  necessary  to  state  in  the 
papers  prepared  for  such  a  proceeding,  and  the  lawyer  whom 
he  consulted  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  clearness  and  pre- 
cision of  the  memorandum  that  he  strongly  advised  him  to 
adopt  the  legal  profession. 

"  There  were  then  no  American,  and,  indeed,  no  English  law 
schools.  An  education  for  the  bar  was  commonly  gained  by 
studying  the  works  of  some  of  the  English  judges  of  former 
generations,  under  the  advice  of  a  local  practitioner,  but  with 
little  other  assistance  from  him.  The  system  of  justice  ad- 
ministered in  Connecticut  was  rough  and  unhewn,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  judges  of  the  highest  courts  had  never  followed  the 
profession  of  the  law. 

"  Sherman  began  to  read  law,  in  consequence  of  the  inci- 
*  Collections,  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  II,  146. 


240  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

dent  to  which  I  have  alluded,  when  he  was  about  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Litchfield  County  in 
1754.  There  were  then  few  lawyers  in  the  colony  who  gained 
the  whole  of  their  livelihood  from  their  profession.  Many 
were  also  farmers.  Sherman  retained  his  interest  in  the  New 
Milford  store. 

"  Meanwhile  he  had  been  sent  to  the  General  Assembly,  and 
made  first  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  then  a  side  judge  of  the 
County  Court. 

"  The  record  of  one  of  the  early  justice  suits  tried  before 
him  well  illustrates  the  difference  in  political  ideas  between 
those  times  and  ours.  It  shows  the  conviction  and  fine  of  one 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  for  a  violation  of  the  Colony  statute 
in  not  attending  public  worship  in  any  congregation  allowed 
by  law  on  January  29,  1758,  nor  on  any  Sunday  in  the  month 
next  preceding. 

"  '  Squire  '  Sherman,  as  he  was  now  called,  brought  to  his 
new  profession  the  strong  common  sense  and  good  business 
judgment  which  had  served  to  advance  him  in  his  previous 
employments,  and  which,  if  added  to  sound  learning,  will  al- 
ways assure  success  at  the  bar. 

"  The  late  President  Porter,  who,  in  early  life,  was  settled 
as  a  minister  at  New  Milford,  once  told  me  of  a  story  which 
he  heard  here  of  some  wise  words  uttered  by  Sherman  at  this 
period  in  his  history.  *  Squire  Sherman,'  said  one  of  his 
neighbors  to  him,  one  day,  '  tell  me,  are  most  controversies 
that  come  before  Judges  in  lawsuits  decided  justly  or  unjustly?  ' 
'  Sir,'  was  the  reply,  '  it's  not  the  point  whether  they  are  de- 
cided justly  or  unjustly:  they  are  decided,  and  made  an  end 
of.'  And  in  truth  it  is  perhaps  the  best  office  of  courts  of 
justice  that,  however  often  they  may  err  in  their  processes, 
they  certainly  bring  every  human  controversy  that  is  within 
their  reach  to  a  final  stop.  The  conclusion  may  be  right  or 
wrong;  but  a  conclusion  it  is. 

"  Sherman  was  a  deacon  of  the  New  Milford  Church,  the 
clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  society,  and  one  of  the  school 
committee.  At  the  age  of  forty,  he  removed  to  New  Haven, 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  241 

and  connected  himself  with  the  White  Haven  Church,  one  of 
the  two  original  bodies  out  of  which  grew  the  United  Society 
and  the  United  Church.  Here  again  the  records  show  his 
faithful  work  on  committees  and  as  collector  of  the  rates  im- 
posed by  the  society. 

"  Five  years  later  he  was  appointed  a  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  a  position  which  he  continued  to  hold  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century. 

"  The  British  legislation  culminating  in  the  Stamp  Act  had 
now  begun  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  independence  in  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  Sherman  was  one  of  those  who  took  the  most 
advanced  ground.  He  maintained  that  Parliament  had  no 
jurisdiction  over  them  whatever. 

"  Connecticut  sent  him  as  one  of  her  delegates  to  the  first 
Continental  Congress,  in  1774,  and  there  he  maintained  this 
doctrine  with  all  his  power.  John  Adams  reports  him  as  de- 
claring upon  the  floor  that  there  was  no  legislative  power 
superior  to  the  Colonial  Assemblies,  and  that  Americans  had 
adopted  the  common  law  of  England,  not  as  the  common  law, 
but  as  the  highest  reason. 

"  It  was  his  thorough-going  republicanism,  indeed,  which 
had  carried  him  into  public  life,  and  put  him  in  a  leading  place 
among  the  legislators  of  his  State.  He  had  been  first  elected 
to  the  Governor's  Council  or  upper  house  of  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1766.  The  Stamp  Act  had  brought  the  *  Sons  of 
Liberty '  into  existence.  They  had  forced,  under  threat  of 
death,  Jared  Ingersoll,  who,  under  the  advice  of  Franklin  had 
accepted  the  position  of  stampmaster  for  Connecticut,  to  re- 
sign the  office.  Governor  Fitch,  though  with  reluctance,  had 
taken  the  official  oath  which  the  obnoxious  Act  required.  It 
cost  him  his  place,  William  Pitkin  being  elected  his  successor 
a  year  later.  With  him  went  out  of  office  four  of  his  Council 
who  sympathized  with  his  deference  to  parliamentary  author- 
ity; dropped  by  the  people  to  make  room  for  others  who 
were  regarded  as  more  fully  Americans  in  spirit  and  doctrine. 

"  No  one  was  then  eligible  for  a  seat  on  the  Council-board 
who  had  not  been  officially  nominated  in  the  previous  year. 


242  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Twenty  nominations  were  annually  made  for  the  twelve  places, 
and  the  election  was  so  managed  that  the  twelve  in  office  always 
headed  the  list  and  were  voted  on  first.  A  majority  was  not 
required  for  an  election.  To  be  once  nominated  for  the  upper 
house  was  in  this  way  a  substantial  assurance  of  an  ultimate 
election,  and  to  be  once  elected  was  a  substantial  assurance  of 
an  annual  re-election  for  life. 

"  Sherman,  in  1766,  had  been  on  the  waiting  list  for  five  years. 
A  political  whirlwind,  unexampled  in  our  Colonial  annals,  then 
made  five  vacancies,  and  death  a  sixth.  He  went  in  with  five 
other  new  men,  and  remained  a  member  until  after  the  close 
of  the  Revolution. 

"  Religion  in  those  days,  so  far  as  form  at  least  was  con- 
cerned, was  a  part  of  politics.  There  was  a  religious  estab- 
lishment in  Connecticut.  It  put  the  church  beside  the  school- 
house  on  the  village  green.  It  made  Church  and  State  largely 
one. 

"  Sherman  was  not  wiser  than  his  generation  in  regard  to 
matters  of  religion.  His  reading  had  been  mainly  in  English 
history  and  law;  but  the  subject  next  most  interesting  to  him 
was  theology.  He  accepted  Calvinism.  He  believed  in  the 
Puritans.  He  distrusted  and  feared  the  Church  of  England. 
It  was  the  day  when  so  tolerant  and  fair-minded  a  man  as 
President  Stiles  could  record  as  among  the  fourteen  trials  and 
difficulties  of  this  life :  '  Concern  for  the  Congregational 
churches,  &  prevalence  of  Episcopacy  &  Wickedness.'  * 

"  When,  therefore,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  Episcopalians,  who  were  especially  strong  in  Connecti- 
cut, began  to  push  for  the  appointment  of  one  or  more  Ameri- 
can bishops,  it  is  not  surprising  that  Sherman's  voice  was 
raised  in  opposition. 

"  A  long  letter  on  this  subject,  written  in  1768,  which,  it  is 
believed,  came  from  his  pen,  is  among  the  files  of  the  New 
Haven  East  Association,  to  which  his  church  belonged.  In 
this  it  is  urged  that  if  Parliament  provides  for  American 
bishops,  they  might  bring  here  all  the  functions  and  authority 

•Stiles,  Literary  Diary,  I,  16,  July  8,  1769. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  243 

of  those  of  England,  and  hold  ecclesiastical  courts  like  those 
of  Laud,  from  which  our  fathers  fled  into  the  wilderness. 

"  There  was  this  piece  of  solid  ground  under  Sherman's 
argument.  Grant  the  power  of  Parliament  to  establish  an 
American  episcopate,  and  a  new  point  was  made  in  favor  of 
the  general  right  of  Parliament  to  legislate  as  to  all  American 
affairs.  This  consideration,  no  doubt,  greatly  influenced  his 
course;  and  it  was  sufficient  to  defeat  the  consecration  of  any 
bishop  for  America  until  that  of  Dr.  Seabury,  which  followed 
closely  after  the  Revolution. 

"  The  Wyoming  controversy  between  Connecticut  and  Penn- 
sylvania was  one  in  which  Sherman  took  an  active  part. 

"  Our  charter  bounded  us  '  on  the  North  by  the  line  of  the 
Massachusetts  Plantation ;  and  on  the  South  by  the  Sea ;  and 
in  Longitude  as  the  Line  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  running 
from  East  to  West,  That  is  to  say,  From  the  said  Narragan- 
sett  Bay  on  the  East  to  the  South  Sea  on  the  West  part,  with 
the  Islands  thereto  Adjoining.'  This  gave  us  a  paper  title  to 
a  swath  of  North  America  sixty-  miles  wide,  at  least,  running 
from  Rhode  Island  to  the  Pacific,  and  taking  in  what  are  now 
the  sites  of  Wilkesbarre,  Cleveland,  Chicago,  and  Omaha. 
Our  people,  as  early  as  1762,  began  to  make  settlements  in 
that  part  of  it  in  western  Pennsylvania  known  as  the  Wyom- 
ing Valley.  The  General  Assembly  made  it  a  county  in  1776, 
styling  it  Westmoreland  County,  and  it  furnished  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Connecticut  Regiment  in  the  Continental  Army. 

"  Sherman  was  one  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  legisla- 
ture in  1774  to  report  upon  measures  to  support  the  title 
of  the  Wyoming  settlers,  which  Pennsylvania  now  disputed, 
under  a  later  and  conflicting  grant  from  the  Crown.  Ener- 
getic measures  were  recommended  and  adopted,  and,  knowing 
the  power  of  the  newspapers,  Sherman  shortly  afterwards 
followed  up  the  report  by  a  clear  and  full  statement  of  the 
position  of  Connecticut,  in  a  letter  to  the  Connecticut  Journal 
of  New  Haven.  Public  sentiment,  here,  was  much  divided. 
There  were  many  who  thought  that  such  an  '  expansion ' 
threatened  the  safety  of  our  liberties.  Sherman  proposed  that 


244  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

the  colony  should  secure  a  determination  of  its  bounds  from 
the  King  in  Council.  Such  a  law  suit,  said  those  who  were 
for  letting  Wyoming  go,  would  be  slow  and  costly;  and,  even 
if  we  should  win  it,  what  then?  A  defeat,  Mr.  Ingersoll  had 
declared  in  another  newspaper  article,  *  would  be  very  detri- 
mental, but  a  victory  must  be  absolute  ruin.'  '  But,'  replied 
Sherman,  '  he  gives  no  reason  for  his  opinion.  And  can  his 
bare  assertion  make  the  people  of  this  colony,  who  are  a  com- 
pany of  farmers,  believe  that  to  be  quieted  in  their  claim  to  a 
large  tract  of  valuable  land  would  ruin  them?  ' 

"  The  Revolution  transferred  the  judicial  decision  of  this 
controversy  from  the  King  in  Council  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  A  Court  of  Commissioners  was  organized  to 
try  the  issue,  and,  in  1782,  judgment  was  rendered  against  us. 

"  The  Commissioners  had  prudently  determined,  before  hear- 
ing the  case,  to  give  no  reasons  for  their  decision,  whatever  it 
might  be.  That  they  were  not  of  the  strongest  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  four  years  later  Congress  accepted  from 
Connecticut  a  relinquishment  of  the  rest  of  her  Western  title, 
with  an  express  reservation  of  a  large  strip  of  northern  Ohio. 
This  is  still  known  as  the  Western  Reserve.  We  soon  sold  it, 
and  the  proceeds  constituted  our  State  School  fund  of 
$2,000,000. 

"  The  services  rendered  by  Sherman  to  the  United  States 
outshine  those  which  he  rendered  to  Conncticut;  but  it  is  only 
because  the  field  was  larger,  and  the  circumstances  more 
striking. 

"  Three  are  commemorated  upon  a  mural  tablet  erected  to 
his  memory  in  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member  in  New 
Haven.  This  states  that  he  was  *  one  of  the  committee  which 
drew  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  of  that  which  reported 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  of  the  Convention  that  framed 
the  national  Constitution,  and  a  Signer  of  these  three  Char- 
ters of  American  liberty.' 

"  To  no  other  man  came  the  good  fortune  to  set  his  hand 
to  these  three  great  State  papers.  One  marked  the  birth  of 
the  nation.  The  next  was  its  first  attempt  to  agree  on  a 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  245 

constitution  of  government — a  necessary  compromise,  and  tem- 
porary as  compromises  always  are.  The  last  was  what  has 
made  the  United  States  the  greatest,  richest,  freest  country 
that  the  sun  shines  upon  to-day ;  and  it  was  in  that,  that  the 
work  of  Sherman  told  most. 

"  He  was  among  the  leading  members  of  the  Convention 
from  whose  hands  it  came.  Connecticut  was  wise  enough  to 
send  to  it  her  strongest  men.  Our  delegates  were  William 
Samuel  Johnson,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  and  Roger  Sherman. 

"  Johnson  was  the  representative  in  his  generation  of  the 
family  in  the  State  most  distinguished  for  public  services  and 
personal  attainments.  He  had  ably  represented  our  interests 
abroad,  in  important  matters,  and  twenty  years  before  had  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  from  Oxford  Uni- 
versity. The  Convention  made  him  head  of  the  committee  to 
put  the  measures  which  it  adopted  in  proper  form  and  style. 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  who  had  been  the  foremost  lawyer  at  our 
bar,  was  then  an  associate  of  Sherman  on  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  was  soon  to  be  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States.  But  Sherman  had  a  truer  sense  than  either  of  his 
colleagues  of  what  must  be  the  nature  and  soul  of  the  new 
government.  He  felt  that  it  must  stand  upon  a  double  founda- 
tion, that  of  the  States,  acting  each  for  itself,  and  that  of  the 
people  of  all  the  States,  acting  for  all  together.* 

"  He  felt,  too,  that  it  must  stand  for  human  liberty. 

"  Our  State  was  then  a  slave-holding  State,  but  he  was  one 
of  those  who  were  determined  that  the  word  slave  should  not 
stain  the  pages  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Later, 
when  he  was  a  member  of  the  first  Congress,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentatives from  Virginia  (for  Virginia  statesmen  were  then  look- 
ing to  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery)  proposed  to  put  into 
the  tariff  act  a  duty  of  ten  dollars  on  each  slave  imported. 
Sherman  opposed  it.  He  could  not,  he  said,  reconcile  himself 
to  the  insertion  of  human  beings  as  an  article  of  duty,  among 
goods,  wares,  and  merchandise;  and,  when  it  was  replied  that 
the  doctrine  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  required  the 
endeavor  to  wipe  off  the  stigma  of  slavery  from  the  American 
*  Elliot's  Debates,  178. 


246  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

government,  his  reply  was  that  the  principles  of  the  motion 
and  the  principles  of  the  bill  were  inconsistent:  the  principle 
of  the  bill  was  to  raise  revenue,  and  the  principle  of  the  motion 
was  to  correct  a  moral  evil.  These  few  and  well  put  words 
illustrate  that  strong  sense  of  proportion  and  relation  which 
gave  Sherman  such  weight  in  every  deliberative  assembly. 

"  In  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution,  he  was 
the  author  of  the  compromise  by  which,  in  Congress,  the  Sen- 
ate represents  the  States  and  the  House,  the  people. 

"  Afterwards,  when  Congress  was  engaged  in  formulating 
the  first  ten  amendments  of  the  Constitution,  which  serve  as  a 
bill  of  rights  for  the  people  and  for  the  States,  it  was  he  who 
gave  the  final  shape  to  the  last  and  most  important. 

"  This  (originally  the  Twelfth,  for  Congress  proposed 
twelve  of  which  ten  only  were  ratified  by  the  States),  as  re- 
ported by  the  committee,  read  thus :  '  The  powers  not  dele- 
gated to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited 
by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively.' 
Sherman  moved,  and  the  House  voted  to  add  the  words,  *  or 
to  the  people.' 

"  He  knew,  as  a  lawyer,  that  when  anything  is  reserved  in 
a  grant  it  is  reserved  by  and  for  the  maker  of  the  grant. 
Who  made  this  grant?  From  what  authority  did  the  Consti- 
tution proceed?  Was  it  from  the  States,  and  were  the  powers 
reserved  to  be  reserved  to  them  and  each  of  them?  This  was 
said,  or  implied,  in  the  original  draft  of  the  amendment.  Sher- 
man's addition  recognized  the  principle,  afterwards  affirmed 
by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  that  the  people  also  had  a  share 
in  ordaining  this  Constitution  for  themselves  and  their 
posterity. 

"  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark,  that  he  was  careful  to  follow 
the  phrase  used  in  the  preceding  amendment  (the  Ninth)  in 
which  it  is  declared  that  the  enumeration  in  the  Constitution 
of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage 
others  retained  by  the  people.  What  people  is  thus  meant? 
Is  it  the  people  of  each  State,  regarded  state-wise,  or  the 
whole  people  of  the  United  States  regarded  nation-wise?  That 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  247 

was  a  question  on  which  public  opinion  had  been  divided,  and 
which  it  remained  for  the  Civil  War  to  settle  by  force  of  arms. 

"  Sherman  did  not  seek  to  precipitate  this  issue.  The  fram- 
ers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  met  the 
same  question  and  decided  it.  By  the  article  of  that  document 
(the  Sixth)  which  corresponds  to  the  Tenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  powers  not  delegated  to 
the  Confederate  States  were  *  reserved  to  the  States  respec- 
tively, or  to  the  people  thereof.'  *  Here  is  the  doctrine  of 
States  Rights,  clear  and  unmistakable.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  Sherman  would  have  preferred  the  use  of  similar  language 
by  the  First  Congress,  in  drafting  the  Tenth  Amendment.  The 
interest  of  his  State  lay  or  seemed  to  lie  in  that  direction. 
But  he  had  been  willing,  as  a  political  necessity,  to  build  the 
Constitution  on  pillars  of  compromise,  and  this  was  one  of 
them.  He  was  content  to  use  words  of  comprehension,  which 
the  adherents  of  each  school  of  American  politics  could  read 
in  their  own  sense,  and  to  leave  it  to  another  generation  to 
determine  which  should  prevail. 

"  Another  service  of  importance  rendered  by  Sherman  in 
the  First  Congress  was  to  bring  the  cent  into  actual  use  in 
the  financial  system  of  the  United  States. 

"  The  revenue  measure  for  the  collection  by  the  United 
States  of  customs  duties  on  imported  goods,  which  Congress 
had  urged  upon  the  States  in  1783  as  an  amendment  to  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  had  stated  the  proposed  duties  in 
dollars  and  ninetieths  of  a  dollar.  Thus,  on  rum  of  Jamaica 
proof,  the  rate  fixed  was  four  ninetieths  of  a  dollar,  and  upon 
all  other  spirituous  liquors  three  ninetieths. f  This  mode  of 
reckoning  fractions  of  a  dollar  continued  to  be  that  pursued 
in  government  accounts  down  to  the  close  of  the  Confedera- 
tion. J  In  1786,  Congress  had,  indeed,  provided  for  the  coin- 
age of  both  cents  and  half-cents. IT  The  next  year  a  contract 
was  made  with  James  Jarvis  of  New  Haven  to  strike  off  three 

*  Davis,  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Government,  I,  672. 
f  Journ.  of  Congress,  XIII,  155. 
$  Id.,  XIII,  122,  161,  162,  165. 
f  Id.,  XII,  179,  180,  252. 


248  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

hundred  tons  of  these  coins.*  This  contract  was  fulfilled  at 
least  in  part,  and  many  of  the  cents  struck  under  it  are  to  be 
found  in  the  cabinets  of  collectors.  They  bear  the  legend 
Fugio,  and  the  date  1787.  The  work  was  done  at  New  Haven ; 
Connecticut  being  then  the  great  copper-producing  State. 

"  It  is  probable,  however,  that  these  New  Haven  cents  had 
a  very  limited  circulation.  Hildreth  says  that  but  a  few  tons 
were  issued,  and  it  is  certain  that  in  New  York  the  old  plan  of 
reckoning  by  ninetieths  of  dollars  remained  in  use  for  several 
years  more. 

"  In  1789  Madison  reported  a  tariff  bill  to  the  First  Con- 
gress under  our  present  Constitution.  The  rates  of  duty 
were  left  blank.  Sherman,  who  had  been  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  to 
supervise  the  coinage  of  copper  coins  under  State  authority ,t 
took  an  early  opportunity  to  propose  that  in  filling  the  blanks 
that  Madison  had  left,  they  should  begin  with  rum,  and  tax 
it  fifteen  cents  a  gallon.  He  preferred,  he  said,  to  use  the 
term  cent,  for  its  convenience,  as  ten  made  a  dime,  and  ten 
dimes,  a  dollar.  J  This  explanation  was  evidently  necessary  to 
make  the  House  understand  what  a  cent  was.  They  approved 
his  suggestion,  and  the  bill  when  passed  stated  all  duties  in 
dollars  and  cents.  It  was  thus  that  the  inconvenient  and  sense- 
less division  of  the  dollar  into  ninetieths  never  afterwards 
obtained  recognition  on  the  statute  books  of  the  United  States. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  Connecticut  found  herself 
a  tributary  State  to  her  neighbors  on  each  side.  Her  citizens 
were  buying  heavily  from  New  York,  Newport,  and  Boston 
importers,  and  thus  paying  duties  for  the  benefit  of  New  York, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Massachusetts.  Connecticut  consumed,  ac- 
cording to  an  estimate  by  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth,  as  late 
as  1787,  about  a  third  of  all  the  goods  entered  at  the  New 
York  custom  house,  and  paid  in  that  way  for  New  York  cus- 
toms something  like  twenty  thousand  pounds  a  yearH — a  vast 
sum  for  those  early  days. 

*  Journal  of  Congress,  XII,  54. 

t  Papers  of  the  New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society,  I,  177. 

+  Annals  of  Congress,  I,  125.  f  Elliot's  Debates,  II,  189. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  249 

"  It  was  thought  that  if  New  Haven  were  made  a  free  port, 
and  special  encouragement  offered  to  merchants  to  settle  there 
in  business,  we  might  be  able  to  import  what  we  wanted  for 
ourselves. 

"  Our  first  city  charter  was  thereupon  issued,  and  New 
Haven  became  a  city  in  1784,  with  all  the  privileges  of  a  free 
port  for  seven  years.  Her  city  seal  devised  by  President 
Stiles  still  bears  the  legend,  Mare  liberum, 

"  Roger  Sherman  was  elected  its  first  mayor.  The  charter 
made  the  term  of  office  during  good  behavior,  and  he  remained 
the  mayor  until  his  death. 

"  Sherman  was  fond  of  studying  problems  of  controversial 
theology.  The  first  President  Dwight,  in  summing  up  his 
character,  described  him  as  a  '  profound  logician,  statesman, 
lawyer,  and  theologian.'  * 

"  Religion  is  the  philosophy  of  life,  and  theology  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  the  philosophy  of  religion.  No  thoughtful  man 
can  avoid  occasional  reflection  on  these  high  themes.  It  is 
our  good  fortune  to  study  them  in  the  light  of  sciences  un- 
known to  him.  Put  any  doctrinal  discussion  of  the  eighteenth 
century  by  the  side  of  those  of  our  day,  directed  and  controlled 
as  ours  must  be  by  the  truths  of  biology,  the  discoveries  of 
archaeologists,  and  the  principles  of  evolution,  and  the  older 
statements  seem  unreal  and  unsubstantial. 

"  Sherman's  thought,  however,  in  theology,  as  in  everything 
else,  was  clear  and  plain.  In  1789,  he  published,  in  New  Haven, 
a  sermon  of  his  own  composition.  A  year  later  he  exchanged 
several  long  letters  with  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Hopkins  of  New- 
port, in  which  he  attacked  that  divine's  peculiar  doctrine  that 
a  man  ought  to  be  willing  to  suffer  eternal  damnation,  if  need 
be,  for  the  glory  of  God.  Calvin  was  quoted  as  an  authority 
for  this,  by  the  advocates  of  '  Hopkinsianism.'  '  Calvinists,' 
replied  Sherman,  '  do  not  found  their  faith  on  the  authority 
of  his  opinions :  that  would  be  to  entertain  an  opinion  contrary 
to  his,  viz.,  that  the  word  of  God  is  the  only  rule  of  faith  in 
matters  of  religion.' 

"  In  1765  Sherman  accepted  the  position  of  Treasurer  of 
*  Travels,  IV,  299. 


250  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Yale  College,  filling  it  until  1776,  when  the  cause  of  American 
independence  demanded  all  his  energies.  He  came  to  this 
office  during  the  last  years  of  President  Clap's  administration, 
and  held  it  through  most  of  the  long  interregnum  during 
which  Professor  Daggett  was  acting  President.  It  was,  as 
I  have  said,  a  dark  time  for  the  College ;  a  day  of  small  things. 
Daggett  and  Sherman  were  for  some  years  the  only  perma- 
nent officers.  The  means  of  the  institution  were  slender,  and 
the  utmost  economy  was  necessary  to  secure  its  maintenance. 
Sherman's  prudence  and  business  judgment  were  here  of  sub- 
stantial service,  though  the  struggle  of  the  College  then  was 
more  to  live  than  to  grow. 

"  He  was  also  in  a  position  to  befriend  it,  where  it  then 
much  needed  support,  before  the  Legislature.  There  was  a 
long  and  strong  effort  during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  to  bring  it  under  State  control.  Here,  writes  Presi- 
dent Stiles  in  his  Literary  Diary,  he  was  '  ever  a  friend  to  its 
interests,  and  to  its  being  and  continuing  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergy,  whom  he  judged  the  most  proper  to  have  the  super- 
intendency  of  a  religious,  as  well  as  a  scientific,  college.'  * 

"  In  1792,  while  he  was  a  Senator  in  Congress  (to  which 
position  he  had  been  elected  the  year  before),  that  controversy 
came  to  a  peaceful  close.  The  General  Assembly  offered  the 
College  a  grant  of  what  was  estimated  to  be  worth  about 
thirty  thousand  dollars,  provided  it  would  admit  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant  Governor  and  the  six  senior  assistants  as,  for 
all  time,  Fellows  of  the  Corporation.  This  left  the  clergy 
still  in  full  control,  for  they  held  twelve  seats,  and  could  dictate 
the  election  of  the  President  to  occupy  another.  Neverthe- 
less, the  clerical  Fellows  were  divided  in  opinion,  as  to  the 
policy  of  agreeing  to  this  friendly  overture.  One  of  them, 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor  of  this  town,  was  especially  reluctant 
to  take  this  step.  He  consulted  Sherman,  whose  pastor  he  had 
formerly  been,  and  by  his  advice  yielded  to  the  rest,  and  so 
made  the  vote  of  acceptance  an  unanimous  one.f 

"  This  was  almost  Sherman's  last  service  to  Yale.     In  the 

*  Lit.  Diary, I   11,500. 
t  Stile's  Diary,  III,  460. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  £51 

next  year,  under  date  of  July  23,  in  Stiles'  Diary,  we  find  this 
entry : 

"  'About  VIIh,  or  about  sunsetting,  a  bright  Luminary  set 
in  New  Haven:  the  Hon.  Roger  Sherman,  Esqr.  died  set.  7#i, 
mayor  of  the  city  &  Senator  in  Congress.'  * 

"  He  died  at  his  residence  on  Chapel  Street,  which  is  still 
standing  opposite  Vanderbilt  Hall,  and,  on  July  25,  his  funeral 
was  attended  from  the  North  (now  the  United)  Church.  Presi- 
dent Stiles  was  one  of  the  officiating  clergyman,  and  the  stu- 
dents and  tutors  of  the  college  headed  the  procession  to  the 
grave.t  His  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  preached 
the  funeral  sermon.  Edwards  was  a  metaphysical  theologian. 
One  of  the  audience  wrote  of  this  sermon,  a  few  days  later,  to 
a  friend  in  a  neighboring  town :  '  To  do  the  Doctor  justice 
he  preached  better  than  I  expected  to  hear  him,  and  seemed 
to  keep  almost  free  from  moral  obligation,  cause  and  effect, 

etc:\ 

"  The  discourse  is  in  print,  and  a  few  of  the  personal  touches 
in  it  may  give  a  clearer  idea  of  how  Sherman  appeared  to  his 
friends  and  fellow-townsmen  at  home. 

" '  I  need  not  inform  you,'  said  Dr.  Edwards,  *  that  his 
person  was  tall,  unusually  erect  and  well  proportioned,  and 
his  countenance  agreeable  and  manly.  .  .  .  As  he  was  a 
professor  of  religion,  so  he  was  not  ashamed  to  befriend  it,  to 
appear  openly  on  the  Lord's  side,  or  to  avow  and  defend  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  grace.  ...  In  private  life,  though 
he  was  naturally  reserved  and  of  few  words,  yet  in  conversa- 
tion on  matters  of  importance,  he  was  free  and  communicative-' 

"  The  theology  of  the  day  appeared  in  the  concluding  ob- 
servations, in  which  the  preacher  referred  to  the  loss  they  had 
sustained  by  this  bereavement  as  a  token  of  '  divine  dis- 
pleasure.' 

"  President  Stiles,  during  the  same  week,  records  his  estimate 
of  Sherman  in  these  terms : 

"  '  He  was  formed  for  Thin1cs  &  Acting,  but  Law  &  Politico 
were  peculiarly  adapted  to  his  Genius.  He  was  an  admirer 

*  Lit.  Diary,  III,  499.  t  Ibid.,  500.  +  Boutell:  Life,  283. 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAI,  EXERCISES 

of  Vattells  Laws  of  Nature  &  Nations.  .  .  .  He  was 
exemplary  for  Piety  &  serious  Religion,  was  a  good  Divine; 
once  printed  a  well  &  judiciously  written  Sermon  of  his  own 
Composition,  tho'  never  preached.  He  was  far  from  all  En- 
thusiasm. He  was  calm  sedate  &  ever  discerning  &  judicious. 
He  went  thro'  all  the  Grades  of  public  Life,  &  grew  in  them 
all  &  filled  every  Office  with  Propriety,  Ability,  &  tho'  not  with 
showy  Brilliancy,  yet  with  that  Dignity  which  arises  from 
doing  every  Thing  perfectly  right.  In  no  part  of  his  Em- 
ployments has  he  displayed  his  intrinsic  Merit  and  acquired 
that  Glory,  so  much  as  in  Congress.  He  there  became  almost 
oracular  for  the  deep  Sagacity,  Wisdom  &  Weight  of  his 
Counsels.  Tho'  of  no  Elocution,  he  was  respected  &  listened 
to  with  great  Attention;  and  was  successful  in  carrying  the 
Points  he  laboured.  He  was  an  extraordy  Man — a  venerable 
uncorrupted  Patriot ! '  * 

"  Many  years  later  Sherman's  character  was  thus  sketched 
by  the  discriminating  hand  of  Professor  James  L.  Kingsley : 

"  '  No  man  in  Connecticut  ever  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
the  people  of  the  State  more  entirely,  or  for  a  longer  period, 
than  Roger  Sherman.  Where  he  doubted,  who  ventured  to  be 
positive?  Where  he  saw  his  way  clear,  who  hesitated  to  follow? 
In  the  whole  course  of  his  public  life  Roger  Sherman  never 
failed  to  leave  in  those  with  whom  he  had  intercourse  an  im- 
pression of  deep  sagacity,  and  stern  integrity;  and  he  be- 
queathed, as  a  public  man,  to  those  who  should  come  after 
him,  the  character  of  a  great,  and  what  is  much  more  rare,  of 
an  honest,  politician.'  f 

"  Sherman's  English  ancestors  were  of  the  yeoman  class.  He 
was  born  in  the  ranks  of  what,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  is 
called  the  *  common  people.'  He  knew  their  virtues,  but  he 
knew  their  failings,  too.  It  may  fairly  be  said  that,  when 
he  came  to  be  entrusted  with  high  public  station,  the  people 
had  more  confidence  in  Sherman  than  Sherman  had  in  them. 

"  This,  no  doubt,  was  an  esoteric  doctrine  to  be  wisely  kept 
*  Literary  Diary,  III,  500.  t  Historical  Discourse,  1S38,  69. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  253 

for  those  who  had  ears  to  hear.  He  stated  it  without  reserve 
in  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Governor  Randolph  of  Virginia  had  proposed — what 
is  now  urged  by  many  as  a  needed  constitutional  change — that 
the  senators  from  each  State  should  be  elected  by  popular 
vote.  Sherman  opposed  it,  '  insisting,'  as  Mr.  Madison  re- 
ports him,  '  that  it  ought  to  be  by  the  State  legislatures.  The 
people,  he  said,  immediately,  should  have  as  little  to  do  as  may 
be  about  the  government.  They  want  information,  and  are 
constantly  liable  to  be  misled.'* 

"  His  views  prevailed,  and,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  ex- 
perience thus  far  of  his  own  State,  he  was  probably  right  in 
believing  that  it  was  safer  to  confide  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  than  in  a  popular  vote.  He  was  speaking  as 
the  representative  of  one  of  the  smaller  States,  of  territorial 
limits  such  as  to  make  it  reasonably  certain  that  every  leading 
man  among  her  citizens  would  be  known  to  most  of  the  leading 
members  of  her  Legislature.  The  inhabitants  of  our  towns, 
again,  are  quite  generally  personally  acquainted  with  those 
whom  they  send  to  represent  them  at  Hartford;  and  if  these 
men  betray  their  trust,  they  are  called  to  a  prompt  account 
at  home,  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion. 

"  It  is  to  be  remembered,  of  course,  that  Sherman's  unwilling- 
ness to  trust  the  people  with  the  election  of  a  Senator  by  a 
direct  vote  was  not  inconsistent  with  his  confidence  in  their 
judgment  on  general  questions  of  public  policy  or  moral  right. 
That  confidence  he  always  maintained. 

"  Sherman  was  an  effective  speaker,  but  it  was  not  because 
he  had  in  him  anything  of  an  orator. j~  His  power  in  debate  lay 
in  his  habit  of  never  taking  the  floor  unless  he  had  something 
new  and  important  to  suggest, J  and  in  stopping  as  soon  as 
he  had  said  it.  It  lay  also  in  what  Cicero  said  was  the  first 
qualification  of  the  successful  orator — being  a  good  man.  Peo- 
ple believed  him,  because  they  believed  in  him. 

"  Justice  was  his  polar  star.  He  believed  that  it  was  the 
true  mainspring  of  all  political  action  on  the  part  of  the  mass 

*  V  Elliot's  Debates,  135.  1 3  Am.  Hist.  Review,  326. 

JSanderson's  Lives  of  the  Signers,  III,  297. 


254  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

of  the  people.  *  Popular  opinion,'  he  said  on  the  floor  of  the 
First  Congress,  '  is  founded  in  justice,  and  the  only  way  to 
know  if  the  popular  opinion  is  in  favor  of  a  measure  is  to 
examine  whether  it  is  just  and  right  in  itself.' 

"  '  The  popularity  that  follows,  not  that  which  is  run  after,' 
was  what  he  thought  should  be  the  wish  of  the  legislator. 

"  So  lived,  and  so,  in  a  green  old  age,  still  in  high  public 
station  and  still  useful  in  it,  passed  away  the  man  to  whose 
commemoration  this  hour  has  been  devoted. 

"  The  Church  no  longer  thinks  a  peaceful  end  of  a  well- 
spent  life  is  to  be  taken  as  a  token  of  the  divine  displeasure. 
It  no  longer  discusses  the  theological  opinions  that  were  of 
such  absorbing  interest  in  Sherman's  age.  He  belonged  to 
the  eighteenth  and  we  are  drinking  in  the  inspiration  of  the 
twentieth  century. 

"  But  Sherman's  religion  is  still  our  religion.  He  stood  for 
justice,  and  truth:  he  stood  for  duty,  quietly,  daily,  untir- 
ingly done,  in  whatever  station,  high  or  low,  God  may  see  fit 
to  place  us.  He  was  a  good  shoemaker,  and  he  was  a  good 
Senator. 

"  His  example  will  never  die  out  of  American  memory,  be- 
cause it  appeals  to  every  man  in  every  walk  of  life,  and  shows 
how  character,  perseverance,  industry,  joined  to  common  sense, 
under  our  system  of  government,  put  within  the  reach  of  their 
possessor  whatever  the  times  may  have  to  give  of  opportunity 
for  doing  public  service  and  winning  public  esteem. 

"  There  are  five  names  in  the  history  of  the  United  States 
that  seem  to  me  to  stand  alone.  In  the  view  of  most  Americans, 
I  think,  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  and 
Hamilton  were  above  all  others  the  founders  of  the  Republic. 

"  In  his  '  Studies  in  History  and  Jurisprudence,'*  James 
Bryce  marshals  in  order  the  leaders  in  American  affairs  at  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  our  Constitution.  Five,  he  says,  be- 
long to  the  history  of  the  world:  Washington,  Franklin,  Ham- 
ilton, Jefferson,  and  Marshall ;  '  and  in  the  second  rank  are 
to  be  named  John  Adams,  Madison,  Jay,  Patrick  Henry, 

*  P.  306. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  255 

Gouverneur  Morris,  Roger  Sherman,  James  Wilson,  and  Albert 
Gallatin.' 

"  John  Marshall  seems  to  me  not  so  much  a  founder  as  a  re- 
founder  of  the  Constitution,  and  I  should  be  unwilling  to  agree 
with  Mr.  Bryce  in  giving  him  a  place  which  appears  with 
greater  right  to  belong  to  the  successor  of  Washington  in  the 
presidential  chair.  So,  in  arranging  the  statesmen  of  the 
second  order,  it  may  be  doubted  if  Gallatin  does  not  more 
properly  belong  to  a  later  generation.  But  that  in  that  class 
is  Roger  Sherman,  rather  than  Trumbull,  rather  than  Ells- 
worth, rather  than  Johnson,  rather  than  any  other  son  of 
Connecticut,  or,  after  John  Adams,  of  New  England,  few  will 
question  who  have  closely  studied  the  Journals  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  and  the  debates  in  the  Convention  of  1787, 
out  of  which  our  Constitution  sprang." 

The  last  speaker,  Hon.  Daniel  Davenport  of  Bridgeport, 
was  introduced  as  a  descendant  of  John  Davenport,  the  leader 
of  the  first  group  of  colonists  to  settle  the  New  Haven  Colony, 
and  the  first  pastor  of  the  first  church  in  New  Haven.  Mr. 
Davenport  spoke  as  follows: 

"  The  settlement  of  New  Milf  ord  began  in  1707,  exactly  a 
century  after  that  of  Jamestown,  Va.  At  that  time,  although 
Milford  and  Stratford  at  the  mouth  of  the  Housatonic  had 
been  settled  almost  seventy  years,  and  the  river  afforded  a 
convenient  highway  into  the  interior,  for  much  of  the  distance, 
this  place,  only  thirty  miles  from  the  north  shore  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  was  still  beyond  the  extreme  northwestern  fron- 
tier of  New  England,  and  indeed  of  English  North  America. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  Connecticut  then  numbered  about  fif- 
teen thousand,  settled  in  thirty  towns,  mostly  along  the  shore 
of  Long  Island  Sound,  and  upon  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut 
and  Thames  rivers.  During  the  thirty  years  next  before,  a 
few  families  from  Norwalk  had  settled  at  Danbury,  from  Strat- 
ford at  Woodbury,  from  Milford  at  Derby,  and  from  Farming- 
ton  at  Waterbury.  With  these  exceptions,  hardly  more  than 
pin  points  upon  the  map,  and  a  few  settlements  about  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  the  whole  of  western  and  northwestern  Connecticut  and 


256  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

of  western  Massachusetts  and  northern  New  York  was  a  sav- 
age wilderness,  covered  with  dense  forests,  and  affording  al- 
most perfect  concealment  for  the  operations  of  savage  warfare. 

"  Though  the  northwestern  portion  of  Connecticut  was  then 
a  most  formidable  and  inhospitable  wilderness,  strenuous  ef- 
forts were  already  being  put  forth  by  the  Colony  to  encourage 
its  settlement.  For,  strange  as  it  seems  to  us  now,  at  that 
time,  owing  to  imperfect  modes  of  cultivation  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  subduing  the  wilderness,  the  settled  portions  of  the 
Commonwealth  had  begun  to  feel  overpopulated.  Twenty-five 
years  before,  the  Secretary  of  the  Colony  had  reported  to  the 
Home  Government,  that  '  in  this  mountainous,  rocky,  and 
swampy  province  '  most  of  the  arable  land  was  taken  up,  and 
the  remainder  was  hardly  worth  tillage. 

"  This  need  of  more  land,  and  the  protection  from  invasion 
which  the  settlement  of  this  section  would  afford  the  communi- 
ties near  the  coast,  and  the  innate  love  of  adventure  and  desire 
to  subdue  the  wilderness,  which  have  characterized  the  Ameri- 
can people  from  the  beginning,  were  the  impelling  causes  which 
led  to  the  planting  of  New  Milford. 

"  So  pressing  did  this  movement  become  that,  though  what 
is  now  Litchfield  County  was  then  as  remote  and  inaccessible 
to  the  rest  of  the  Colony  as  were  Indiana  and  Illinois  to  our 
fathers  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  within  forty-five 
years  after  the  first  settler  had  built  his  log  cabin  and  lighted 
his  fire  here  twelve  towns  had  been  settled  and  the  county 
organized  with  a  population  of  more  than  ten  thousand. 

"  In  order  that  we  may  appreciate,  somewhat,  the  broader 
political  conditions  under  which  the  first  settlers  took  up  their 
abode  here,  which  largely  engrossed  their  thoughts  and  vitally 
affected  them  and  their  children  for  two  generations,  it  is  nec- 
essary, before  taking  up  the  narrative  of  their  actual  settle- 
ment here,  to  advert  briefly  to  the  state  of  affairs  at  that  time 
in  England,  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  in  the  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  Spanish  Colonies  of  North  America. 

"  By  1707  it  had  become  apparent  to  the  people  of  Connec- 
ticut that,  soon  or  late,  they  must  fight  for  the  very  existence 


THE  HISTORICAL,  MEETING  257 

of  their  chartered  privileges  and  natural  rights,  not  alone  the 
British  Crown,  but  the  English  people.  The  disposition  of  the 
people  of  England  to  reap  where  they  had  not  sown  had  be- 
come very  clear.  In  April,  1701,  Connecticut  was  named  in 
the  bill  then  introduced  in  Parliament  to  abrogate  all  Ameri- 
can charters.  She  resisted  with  all  her  might  through  her 
agent,  but  it  passed  the  second  reading,  and  would  have  become 
a  law  but  for  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  War.  Its  prin- 
ciple was  supported  by  the  mercantile  interests  and  the  great 
men  of  England.  Then  for  the  first  time  the  people  of  Con- 
necticut fully  realized  that  their  foes  were  to  be,  not  the  exiled 
house  of  Stuart,  but  the  English  people  themselves,  and  that, 
though  they  changed  their  dynasties,  they  did  not  change  their 
own  nature. 

"  In  1707  the  principal  kingdoms  of  Europe  and  their 
colonies  were  ablaze  with  war.  Anne  was  Queen  01"  England. 
In  that  very  year  she  attached  her  signature  to  that  long  pro- 
jected and  most  important  constitutional  arrangement,  the 
Act  of  Union  between  England  .and  Scotland,  which  made  them 
one  kingdom,  the  crown  of  which,  by  the  Act  of  Settlement 
passed  a  few  years  before,  had  been  forever  vested  in  the  per- 
son and  heirs  of  Sophia,  the  electress  of  Hanover,  the  present 
reigning  dynasty.  Anne's  accession  to  the  throne  in  1702  had 
been  followed  by  the  acknowledgment,  by  Louis  XIV.,  of  the 
son  of  James  II.,  the  deposed  and  fugitive  king  of  England 
and  the  determined  foe  of  the  rights  of  the  Colonists,  as  the 
rightful  king,  although  in  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick,  in  1697, 
he  had  solemnly  stipulated  to  the  contrary.  This  act  of 
perfidy  roused  the  English  to  fury.  The  primary  cause  of 
the  war,  then  raging,  was  the  acceptance  by  Louis  of  the  crown 
of  Spain  for  his  grandson  Philip  despite  a  previous  formal 
renunciation.  But  the  immediate  occasion  was  his  espousal 
of  the  cause  of  the  son  of  James  II.  as  pretender  to  the  Brit- 
ish throne,  which  enabled  the  English  Government  to  form  a 
great  European  alliance  to  wrest  Spain  from  Philip  and  pre- 
vent Louis  from  becoming  the  absolute  master  of  Europe. 

The  year  before,  1706,  had  witnessed  the  humbling  of  the 


258  THE  BI-CENTENNIAI,  EXERCISES 

pride  and  ambition  of  Louis  by  ^he  defeat  of  his  armies  at  Ram- 
illics  by  the  Duke  of  Marlbcrough,  in  Piedmont  by  Prince 
Eugene,  and  in  Spain  by  Lord  Galway.  Charles  XII.  of  Swe- 
den had  advanced  to  Dresden  in  Saxony,  an  English  and  Portu- 
guese army  had  occupied  Madrid,  and  an  attack  of  the  com- 
bined fleets  of  Spain  and  France  upon  Charleston,  S.  C.,  then 
claimed  by  Spain  as  a  part  of  Florida,  had  been  repulsed  by 
the  vigor  and  martial  skill  of  the  Colonial  authorities. 

"  At  that  time  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  occupied 
by  about  fifty  thousand  French  settlers,  imbued  with  bitter  hos- 
tility towards  the  settlers  in  New  England  and  New  York. 
Already  the  vast  design  of  La  Salle  to  acquire  for  the  King  of 
France  the  whole  interior  of  the  continent  seemed  to  have  been 
accomplished.  While  as  yet  the  English  were  struggling  to 
secure  a  foothold  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  the  French  had 
explored  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  to  its  mouth ;  and 
the  whole  vast  region  drained  by  them,  between  the  Allegha- 
nies  and  the  Rockies,  had  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  French 
under  the  name  of  Louisiana ;  and  a  chain  of  military  and  trad- 
ing posts  from  New  Orleans  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  admirably 
chosen  for  the  purpose,  had  been  established  to  hold  it;  and 
another  chain  was  already  planned  to  extend  southward  along 
the  west  side  of  the  Alleghanies,  to  forever  keep  out  the  Eng- 
lish. The  French  had  been  for  fifty  years  hounding  on  the 
numerous  tribes  of  Canada  and  northern  New  England  to  at- 
tack and  exterminate  the  settlers  of  New  England.  The  con- 
quest of  Canada  by  the  English  was,  therefore,  an  object  of  the 
greatest  political  importance,  and  necessary  for  the  peace  and 
safety  of  the  Colonists,  and  their  future  growth,  and  it  continued 
to  engross  the  efforts  and  exhaust  the  means  of  the  Colonists, 
until  their  purpose  was  finally  accomplished  in  1763. 

"  The  people  who  settled  here  were  entirely  familiar  with  the 
hardships,  dangers,  and  horrors  of  Indian  warfare  to  which 
they  were  liable  in  taking  up  their  abode  on  this  frontier.  The 
horrible  incidents  which  attended  the  massacre  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Schenectady,  in  1690,  seventeen  years  before,  during 
the  previous  war,  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  and 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  259 

other  places  in  1704,  during  the  war  still  raging,  were  house- 
hold words  throughout  Connecticut,  and  had  left  an  abiding 
imprint  in  the  minds  of  the  people  on  the  border.  Though  the 
Indians,  right  about  them  here,  seem  to  have  been  few  in  num- 
ber and  comparatively  harmless,  they  knew  from  their  own  and 
their  fathers'  experiences  that  their  position  was  one  of  ex- 
treme danger,  and  that  at  all  times  their  scanty  and  hard  won 
possessions  and  their  lives  were  liable  to  instant  destruction 
from  unheralded  irruptions  by  the  more  distant  Indian  tribes 
of  the  North  and  Northwest,  urged  on  by  their  French  instiga- 
tors and  allies.  For  the  experiences  of  the  last  seventy  years, 
from  the  time  of  the  Pequot  War,  and  during  the  subsequent 
troubles  with  the  tribes  in  southwestern  Connecticut,  and  on 
Long  Island,  and  during  King  Philip's  War,  had  fully  taught 
them  the  craft,  treachery,  and  pitiless  cruelty  of  the  savages, 
as  well  as  their  capacity  for  extensive  combination  among  the 
widely  separated  tribes. 

"When  Major  de  Rouville,  in  1704,  with  his  band  of  civil- 
ized and  uncivilized  savages,  committed  the  atrocities  at  Deer- 
field,  Mass.,  the  suspicions  of  the  Colonists  that  the  French  had 
instigated  the  former  Indian  outrages  became  a  certainty,  for 
in  this  instance  they  openly  shared  in  them. 

"  Their  object  was,  as  I  have  said,  to  drive  the  English  col- 
onists from  North  America,  and  substitute  in  their  place  their 
own  colonial  system.  For  this  purpose  they  fitted  out  hun- 
dreds of  parties  of  savages  to  proceed  to  other  portions  of  the 
English  settlements,  shoot  down  the  settlers  when  at  work  at 
their  crops,  seize  their  wives  and  children,  load  them  with  packs 
of  plunder  from  their  own  homes,  and  drive  them  before  them 
into  the  wilderness.  When  no  longer  able  to  stagger  under 
their  burdens,  they  were  murdered,  and  their  scalps  torn  off  and 
exhibited  to  their  masters,  and  for  such  trophies  bounties  were 
paid.  The  French  Government  in  Paris  paid  bounties  for  the 
scalps  of  women  and  children,  as  Connecticut  did  for  those  of 
wolves,  and  it  not  only  fitted  out  other  savage  expeditions,  but 
sent  its  own  soldiers  to  assist  in  the  murderous  work.  Detailed 
reports  of  each  case  were  regularly  made  to  the  Government  at 


260  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXEB.CISES 

Paris  by  its  agents  in  Canada,  which  can  now  be  read.  This  is 
true  of  every  French  and  Indian  war  until  1763,  and  the  fact 
\vas  as  well  known  to  the  settlers  here  in  1707  as  it  is  to  the 
historical  investigator  of  to-day. 

"In  the  beginning  of  1707  reports  of  an  expedition  by  the 
French  and  Indians  against  some  part  of  New  England  gave 
alarm  to  the  Colony,  and  on  the  sixth  of  February  of  that  year 
a  council  of  war  was  convened  at  Hartford,  consisting  of  the 
Governor,  most  of  the  Council,  and  many  of  the  chief  military 
officers  of  the  Colony.  Suspicions  were  entertained  that  the 
attack  would  fall  upon  Western  Connecticut,  and  that  the  In- 
dians in  this  vicinity  intended  to  join  the  French  and  Indians. 
The  Council  of  War  determined  that  the  then  western  frontier 
towns  of  Danbury,  Woodbury,  Waterbury,  and  Simsbury, 
should  be  fortified  with  the  utmost  expedition.  They  were  di- 
rected to  keep  scouts  of  faithful  men  to  range  the  forests  to 
discover  the  designs  of  the  enemy,  and  give  intelligence  should 
they  make  their  appearance  near  the  frontier.  At  the  October 
session  in  1708  it  was  enacted  that  garrisons  should  be  kept 
at  those  towns,  and  so  it  continued  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war  in  1713. 

"  It  was  in  the  midst  of  alarms  and  dangers  such  as  these 
that  the  settlement  of  this  town  was  begun.  One  of  the  first 
houses  constructed  here  had  palisades  about  it  to  serve  as  a 
fort,  which  lasted  many  years,  and,  in  1717,  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned here  for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants ;  and  this  was 
repeated  several  times  afterwards.  Every  man  here  was  a  sol- 
dier. He  was  a  soldier  when  he  sat  at  his  meals,  a  soldier  when 
he  stood  at  his  door,  a  soldier  when  he  went  to  the  cornfield,  a 
soldier  by  day  and  by  night. 

"  At  the  time  the  first  settlers  arrived  here  there  was  a  tract 
of  cleared  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  called  the  Indian 
Field.  It  extended  from  where  the  river  runs  in  an  easterly 
direction  south  to  the  mouth  of  the  little  brook  which  runs 
along  Fort  Hill.  It  was  not  included  in  the  original  purchase 
from  the  Indians,  having  been  reserved  by  them  in  their  deed. 
It  was,  however,  purchased  from  them  in  1705  by  John  Mitchell, 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  261 

and  was  conveyed  by  him  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  in 
1714.  This  was  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  first  settlers. 
It  furnished  them  a  space  of  cleared  ground,  where  each  planter 
could  at  once  plant  his  corn  and  other  crops  without  the  delay 
of  felling  the  trees. 

"  It  is  thought  also  that  the  ground  where  we  now  stand 
and  Aspetuck  Hill  had  been  in  a  large  measure  cleared  of  trees 
by  the  Indians  by  burning,  as  was  also  Grassy  Hill,  two  miles 
east  of  here.  There  appears  also  to  have  been  some  meadow 
land  partially  cleared  at  the  mouth  of  the  Aspetuck  River. 

"  At  that  time  the  country  about  here  presented  no  such 
appearance  as  it  does  now.  The  river  then  flowed  with  a 
fuller  tide.  With  the  exceptions  I  have  noted,  a  continuous 
forest  overspread  the  whole  landscape.  No  thickets,  however, 
choked  up  the  ways  through  it,  for  the  underbrush  was  swept 
away  every  year  by  fires  built  by  the  Indians  for  that  purpose. 
Winding  footpaths  led  here  and  there,  which  the  Indians  and 
wild  beasts  followed.  The  roots  of  the  smaller  grasses  were 
destroyed  by  this  annual  burning  over.  A  coarse,  long  grass 
grew  along  the  low  banks  of  the  river  and  wherever  the  ground 
was  not  thickly  shaded  by  trees.  After  the  occupation  of  the 
country  by  the  white  settlers  this  annual  burning  was  prohib- 
ited. In  lieu  thereof,  the  General  Court  early  in  its  history 
enacted  that  every  inhabitant,  with  a  few  exceptions,  should 
devote  a  certain  time  yearly,  in  the  several  plantations,  to  the 
cutting  of  brush  and  small  trees  in  the  more  open  forests  for 
the  purpose  of  allowing  grass  to  grow  in  such  places,  as  during 
the  summer  the  cattle  ranged  through  the  forests  near  the 
plantations  subsisting  on  what  grew  there.  It  is  said  that  in 
the  early  settlement  of  this  town  all  meadow  land  was  secured 
by  clearing  marshy  or  swampy  ground  and  allowing  it  to  grow 
up  with  grass  from  the  roots  and  seeds  already  in  the  soil.  It 
was  one  of  the  early  difficulties  in  the  colony  to  secure  grass 
from  want  of  seed. 

"  The  forests  about  here  abounded  with  bears,  wolves,  foxes, 
and  catamounts,  deer  and  moose,  wild  turkeys,  pigeons,  quail 
and  partridges,  and  the  waters  with  wild  geese,  ducks,  herons, 


262  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

and  cranes.  The  river  itself  was  alive  with  fish,  and  every 
spring  great  quantities  of  shad  and  lamprey  eels  ascended  it. 
Strawberries,  blackberries,  and  huckleberries  were  extremely 
abundant  in  their  season. 

"  The  winters  were  usually  of  great  severity.  In  1637  the 
snow  lay  on  the  ground  three  feet  deep  all  over  New  England 
from  the  third  of  November  until  the  twenty-third  of  March, 
and  on  the  twenty-third  of  April  it  snowed  for  several  hours 
in  Boston,  the  flakes  being  as  large  as  shillings.  The  springs 
were  very  backward,  the  summers  extremely  hot  and  often  dry. 

"  Upon  the  petition  of  the  people  of  Milford,  in  May,  1702, 
the  General  Assembly  granted  them  liberty  to  purchase  from 
the  Indians  a  township  at  Wyantonock,  the  Indian  name  of  this 
place,  and  directed  them  to  report  their  doings  to  the  As- 
sembly. The  next  March  they  made  an  extensive  purchase  of 
the  natives,  and  a  patent  for  the  same  was  granted  by  the 
Assembly.  In  October,  1704,  the  Legislature  enacted  that  the 
tract  so  purchased  should  be  a  township  by  the  name  of  New 
Milford,  and  that  it  must  be  settled  in  five  years, — the  town 
plat  to  be  fixed  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly.  In  October,  1706,  the  Legislature  annexed  the  tract 
to  New  Haven  County.  In  April,  1706,  the  first  meeting  of  the 
proprietors  was  held  at  Milford,  and  it  was  voted  that  the 
town  plat  and  home  lots  should  be  speedily  pitched  and  laid 
out  by  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Legislature,  according 
to  its  own  best  judgment,  following  certain  rules  laid  down 
by  the  proprietors.  During  that  year  and  according  to  those 
rules,  the  town  plat  was  laid  out. 

"  It  was  originally  intended  to  lay  out  the  settlement  on 
the  hill  immediately  east  of  the  present  village,  from  this  cir- 
cumstance called  Town  Hill  to  this  day.  In  point  of  fact,  it  was 
laid  out  on  Aspetuck  Hill,  and  consisted  of  the  town  street  and 
sixteen  home  lots.  The  street  was  twenty  rods  wide.  It  began 
at  the  south  end  of  the  brow  of  the  hill,  or  at  the  lower  end  of 
what  was  then  called  the  *  Plain  on  the  Hill,'  and  extended 
northward.  Eight  lots  were  laid  out  on  each  side  of  this 
street,  each  lot  being  twenty-one  rods  wide  and  sixty  deep. 


THE  HISTORICAL,  MEETING  263 

"  By  the  rules  adopted  by  the  proprietors,  these  lots  were  to 
be  taken  up  successively  in  regular  order  by  the  settlers  as 
they  should  arrive.  John  Noble  took  the  first  lot  on  the  east 
side  of  the  street  at  the  lower  end,  he  being  the_  first  settler  to 
arrive.  John  Bostwick  took  the  lot  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  he  being  the  next  settler  on  the  ground.  This  method 
was  followed  by  the  others  until  there  were  twelve  settlers,  with 
their  families,  numbering  seventy  souls,  located  on  this  street 
in  1712.  Of  these  twelve  families,  four  were  from  Northamp- 
ton and  Westfield,  Mass.,  four  were  from  Stratford,  two  from 
Farmington,  and  only  two  from  Milford.  In  1714  the  town 
street  was  extended  southward  to  the  south  end  of  the  present 
public  green. 

"  The  first  houses  constructed  here  by  the  settlers  were  of 
the  rudest  description.  They  were  built  of  logs  fastened  by 
notching  at  the  corners.  They  were  usually  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  feet  square,  and  about  seven  feet  in  height,  or  high 
enough  for  a  tall  man  to  enter.  At  first  they  had  no  floors. 
The  fireplace  was  erected  at  one  end  by  making  a  back  of 
stones  laid  in  mud,  and  not  in  mortar,  and  a  hole  was  left  in 
the  bark  or  slab  roof  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke.  A  chimney 
of  sticks  plastered  with  mud  was  afterwards  erected  in  this 
opening.  A  space,  of  width  suitable  for  a  door,  was  cut  in  one 
side,  and  this  was  closed,  at  first,  by  hanging  in  it  a  blanket, 
and  afterwards  by  a  door  made  from  split  planks  and  hung  on 
wooden  hinges.  This  door  was  fastened  by  a  wooden  latch  on 
the  inside,  which  could  be  raised  from  the  outside  by  a  string. 
When  the  string  was  pulled  in  the  door  was  effectually  fastened. 
A  hole  was  cut  in  each  side  of  the  house  to  let  in  light,  and, 
as  glass  was  difficult  to  obtain,  greased  paper  was  used  to  keep 
out  the  storms  and  cold  of  autumn  and  winter.  Holes  were 
bored  at  the  proper  height  in  the  logs  at  one  corner  of  the 
room,  and  into  these  the  ends  of  poles  were  fitted,  the  opposite 
ends,  where  they  crossed,  being  supported  by  a  crotch  or  a 
block  of  the  proper  height.  Across  these  poles  others  were 
laid,  and  these  were  covered  by  a  thick  mattress  of  hemlock 
boughs,  over  which  blankets  were  spread.  On  such  beds  as 


264  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

these  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  town  slept  and  their  first 
children  were  born.  For  want  of  chairs,  rude  seats  were  made 
with  ax  and  auger  by  boring  holes  and  inserting  legs  in  planks 
split  from  basswood  logs,  hewn  smooth  on  one  side.  Tables 
were  made  in  the  same  way,  and,  after  a  time,  the  floor,  a  bare 
space  being  left  about  the  fireplace  instead  of  a  hearthstone. 

"  No  sooner  had  the  first  settlers  taken  up  their  abode  here 
than  they  were  called  upon  to  defend  the  title  to  their  lands 
in  the  courts  of  the  Colony.  About  thirty-seven  years  before, 
the  General  Court  had  granted  permission  to  certain  Stratford 
parties  to  buy  land  from  the  Indians  and  settle  a  plantation  at 
this  place,  and  they  had  bought  over  twenty-six  thousand  acres 
hereabouts.  Apparently,  however,  no  attempt  was  made 
towards  a  settlement  of  the  same  until  after  the  purchase  of 
the  same  tract  from  the  Indians  by  the  Milford  parties  in  1702, 
and  the  grant  for  a  patent  for  the  same  to  them  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  in  1703.  Soon  after  the  settlers  first  broke  ground 
here,  in  1707,  a  suit  was  begun  against  them  by  the  Stratford 
people  in  the  County  Court  at  New  Haven  in  May,  1708,  and 
it  was  carried  thence  to  the  General  Court.  It  was  tried  six- 
teen times.  The  first  fifteen  times  the  plaintiffs  won  on  the 
strength  of  their  Indian  title.  The  sixteenth,  the  defendants 
won  on  the  strength  of  their  Indian  title,  the  patent  from  the 
General  Court,  and  occupation.  This  incident  is  particularly 
interesting,  because  one  of  the  plaintiffs  and  the  lawyer  in  this 
great  case  was  the  famous  John  Read,  one  of  the  ablest  men 
and  most  remarkable  characters  which  New  England  has  pro- 
duced. Some  notice  of  him  will  not  be  inappropriate  here,  as 
he  was  one  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  this  place. 

"  He  was  born  at  Fairfield,  June  29,  1679,  and  was  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Governor  Talcott.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1697,  and  became  a  minister,  preached  in  Woodbury  as  a  can- 
didate, and  in  various  towns  in  Hartford  and  Fairfield  coun- 
ties, and  preached  the  first  sermon  ever  delivered  in  this  place. 
He  studied  law,  and  when,  in  1708,  the  General  Assembly  first 
provided  for  the  appointment  of  attorneys  as  officers  of  the 
court,  he  was  one  of  the  first  admitted.  He  held  the  offices  of 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  265 

Colony  Queen's  Attorney,  1712-16;  Deputy  for  Norwalk, 
1715-17;  Commissioner  to  settle  the  boundary  with  New  York, 
1719;  and  he  was  Connecticut's  representative  in  the  Inter- 
Colonial  Commission  in  regard  to  Bills  of  Credit,  in  1720.  He 
removed  to  Boston  in  1722  and  became  the  Attorney  General 
and  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  by 
far  the  most  eminent  lawyer  of  New  England,  and  was  called 
'  The  Pride  of  the  Bar,  Light  of  the  Law,  and  Chief  among  the 
Wise,  Witty,  and  Eloquent.'  It  was  he  who  prepared  the  in- 
structions to  Lord  Mansfield,  the  counsel  for  Connecticut  in 
the  great  case  of  Clark  vs.  Tousey,  in  which  was  discussed  the 
question  whether  the  Common  Law  of  England  had  any  force 
in  Connecticut  other  than  as  it  was  adopted  by  the  people  of 
Connecticut.  His  exposition  of  the  principles  involved  was 
most  masterly,  and  it  was  the  great  authority  upon  which  in  a 
later  generation  the  people  of  Connecticut  relied  to  sustain 
them  in  their  opposition  to  the  measures  of  the  crown  in 
1775. 

"  In  a  centenary  sermon  delivered  at  Danbury  in  January, 
1801,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins  had  this  to  say  of  him: 

"  '  One  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  Danbury  was  John  Read, 
a  man  of  great  talents  and  thoroughly  skilled  in  the  knowledge 
and  practice  of  the  law.  He  possessed  naturally  many  pecu- 
liarities and  affected  still  more.  He  is  known  to  this  day 
through  the  country  by  many  singular  anecdotes  and  charac- 
teristics under  the  appellation  of  "  John  Read,  the  lawyer." 

"  In  1712  the  town  was  incorporated,  which  gave  it  the 
power  to  tax  the  inhabitants  to  support  a  minister,  and  the 
place  became  thereby  an  ecclesiastical  society.  In  March,  1712, 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Boardman  was  called  to  preach  to  the  settlers. 
In  May,  1715,  the  settlers  petitioned  the  General  Assembly 
that  they  might  obtain  liberty  for  the  settlement  of  the  worship 
and  ordinances  of  God  among  them,  and  the  Legislature 
granted  them  liberty  to  embody  in  church  estate  as  soon  as 
God  in  his  providence  should  make  way  therefor.  On  Novem- 
ber 21,  1716,  Mr.  Boardman  was  duly  ordained  as  the  pastor 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  New  Milford,  the  total  number  of 


266  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

the  inhabitants  of  the  town  then  being  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five.  The  first  vote  of  the  town  to  build  a  meeting-house  was 
passed  in  1716,  but  work  was  not  commenced  upon  it  until 
1719,  and  it  was  not  completed  until  1731,  after  infinite  strug- 
gling. It  was  forty  feet  long,  thirty  wide,  and  twenty  feet  in 
height  between  joints,  and  was  provided  with  galleries,  pews, 
and  a  pulpit.  Long  before  completion,  when  it  was  first  used 
for  religious  purposes,  the  congregation  was  accustomed  to 
sit  upon  its  outer  sills,  which  were  able  to  accommodate  ever} 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  town  with  a  little  squeezing.  In 
1713,  the  town  voted  to  build  for  the  minister  a  dwelling  house 
forty  feet  between  joints.  In  1726,  thirteen  years  later,  the 
house  was  still  unfinished.  The  first  Sabbath  Day  house  was 
not  built  until  1745. 

"  In  1721,  when  there  were  but  thirty -five  families  residing 
here,  a  public  school  was  ordered  by  the  town  to  be  kept  for 
four  months  the  winter  following,  one-half  of  the  expense  to  be 
borne  by  the  town.  The  children  were  taught  reading,  spell- 
ing after  a  phonetic  fashion,  writing,  and  the  first  four  rules 
of  arithmetic.  In  1725  it  was  voted  to  build  a  schoolhouse 
twenty  feet  long,  sixteen  feet  wide,  and  seven  feet  in  height  be- 
tween the  joints. 

"  The  first  settlers  crossed  the  Housatonic  to  their  lands  on 
the  west  side  by  fording  it  at  a  point  near  the  mouth  of  Rocky 
River,  about  a  mile  above  the  settlement,  or  at  Waunupee 
Island  in  times  of  very  low  water.  In  1720  the  town  built  a 
boat  for  the  purpose,  which  was  used  until  1737,  when  the  first 
bridge  ever  built  across  the  Housatonic  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth  was  constructed  at  what  is  now  the  foot  of  Bennett 
Street. 

"  The  settlers  for  many  years  crushed  their  grain  by  hand  in 
mortars  or  carried  it  to  mill  at  Danbury,  Woodbury,  or  Derby, 
and  brought  back  the  flour  and  meal.  In  1717  John  Griswold, 
under  an  arrangement  with  the  town,  built  a  grist  and  saw 
mill  on  Still  River,  at  what  is  now  Lanesville. 

"  It  is  said  that  in  1713  there  was  but  one  clothier  in  the 
colony.  The  most  that  he  could  do  was  to  full  the  cloth 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  267 

which  was  made  in  the  homes.  A  great  proportion  of  it  was 
worn  without  shearing  or  pressing.  He  lived  at  Woodbury, 
and  thither  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  town  resorted  to  have 
their  cloth  fulled.  People,  to  a  very  large  extent,  wore  cloth- 
ing made  from  the  skins  of  animals.  They  also  wore  wooden 
shoes  and  moccasins,  or  went  barefoot,  although  leather  boots 
and  shoes  were  sometimes  used. 

"  The  implements  which  they  used  in  subduing  the  wilder- 
ness, their  axes,  saws,  plows,  hoes,  and  scythes,  were  of  the 
rudest  description.  Their  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine,  we 
should  now  regard  as  of  very  inferior  quality.  The  same  was 
true  of  the  few  vegetables  they  cultivated  and  of  their  fruits, 
especially  their  apples.  Turnips,  squashes,  and  beans  were  the 
principal  vegetables.  Potatoes  were  not  as  yet  cultivated  in 
New  England,  onions  were  not  generally,  and  tomatoes  were 
looked  upon  as  poisonous.  Some  of  them  owned  negro  slaves, 
but  worked  the  harder  themselves  to  make  them  work. 

"  They  had  little  or  no  currency,  taxes  and  debts  being  paid 
in  produce.  What  they  ate,  what  they  wore,  what  they  coaxed 
from  the  reluctant  soil  of  these  hillsides,  cost  them  infinite 
labor.  As  was  to  be  expected,  a  stingy  avarice  was  their  be- 
setting sin,  which  manifested  itself  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 
They  were  without  newspapers,  none  being  published  in  the 
Colony  until  1755.  They  had  few  books,  the  first  printing 
press  in  the  Colony  not  having  been  set  up  at  New  London 
until  1709.  They  suffered  greatly  from  malaria  and  other 
forms  of  sickness,  as  did  all  the  early  settlers  in  the  State. 
Medical  treatment  was  poor  and  difficult  to  obtain.  The  women 
went  to  the  limit  in  childbearing,  and  the  burden  of  rearing 
their  large  families  was  awful.  The  art  of  cooking  was  little 
understood.  They  had  no  stoves  nor  table  forks.  The  food 
was  served  in  a  very  unsavory  fashion,  and  was  very  indiges- 
tible. The  people  therefore  had  frightful  dreams,  and  dys- 
pepsia was  very  prevalent.  No  carpet  was  seen  here  for  a 
hundred  years  after  the  settlement.  Communication  with  the 
outer  world  was  slow,  difficult,  and  rare.  On  several  occasions, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  their  crops  and  the  difficulty  in  getting 


268  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

relief  from  distant  places  little  better  off,  they  nearly  starved 
to  death. 

"  Truly  the  task  which  they  had  undertaken  to  subdue  this 
wilderness,  to  plant  here  the  civil,  religious,  and  educational  in- 
stitutions of  Connecticut,  and  to  prepare  this  beautiful  heritage 
for  their  children  and  children's  children,  was  no  holiday  pas- 
time, no  gainful  speculation,  no  romantic  adventure.  It  was 
grim,  persistent,  weary  toil  and  danger,  continued  through 
many  years,  with  the  wolf  at  the  door  and  the  savage  in  the 
neighboring  thicket. 

"  Besides  the  physical  evils  with  which  they  were  beset,  they 
had  spiritual  troubles  also.  They  fully  believed  in  witchcraft, 
as  did  all  their  contemporaries,  in  a  personal  Devil  who  was 
busily  plotting  the  ruin  of  their  souls,  in  an  everlasting  hell  of 
literal  fire  and  brimstone,  and  in  a  divine  election,  by  which 
most  of  them  had  been  irrevocably  doomed  from  before  the 
creation  of  the  world  to  eternal  perdition,  from  which  nothing 
which  they  could  do,  or  were  willing  to  do,  could  help  to  rescue 
them.  The  great  object  of  life  to  them,  therefore,  was  to  try 
to  find  out  what  their  future  state  would  be.  Said  one  of  their 
preachers :  '  It  is  tough  work  and  a  wonderful  hard  matter 
to  be  saved.  '  Tis  a  thousand  to  one,  if  ever  thou  be  one  of 
that  small  number  whom  God  hath  picked  out  to  escape  this 
wrath  to  come.'  That  we  may  get  a  touch  of  reality  from  those 
far-off  days,  let  me  quote  to  you  a  few  lines  from  the  saintly 
Thomas  Hooker,  the  founder  of  Connecticut  and  long  the 
model  for  her  preachers: 

"  '  Suppose  any  soul  here  present  were  to  behold  the  damned 
in  hell,  and  if  the  Lord  should  give  thee  a  peephole  into 
hell,  that  thou  didst  see  the  horror  of  those  damned  souls, 
and  thy  heart  begins  to  shake  in  consideration  thereof;  then 
propound  this  to  thy  own  heart,  what  pains  the  damned  in  hell 
do  endure  for  sin,  and  thy  heart  will  shake  and  quake  at  it.  The 
least  sin  that  thou  ever  didst  commit,  though  thou  makest  a 
light  matter  of  it,  is  a  greater  evil  than  the  pains  of  the 
damned  in  hell,  setting  aside  their  sins.  All  the  torments  in 
hell  are  not  so  great  an  evil  as  the  least  sin  is ;  men  begin  to 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  269 

shrink  at  this,  and  loathe  to  go  down  to  hell  and  be  in  endless 
torment.' 

"  The  only  test  which  they  were  taught  to  apply  to  ascertain 
whether  they  were  predestined  to  suffer  or  escape  this  fearful 
doom  was  in  their  ability  and  willingness  to  conform  their 
wills  to  the  will  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Bible.  According  as 
they  succeeded  in  this,  they  had  a  reasonable  assurance  as  to 
their  fate,  though  no  wile  of  the  Devil  was  more  frequent  than 
to  falsely  persuade  men  that  their  prospects  were  favorable. 
To  study  the  Scriptures  day  and  night  to  ascertain  the  will  of 
God,  and  to  struggle  without  ceasing  to  conform  their  wills  to 
his  as  therein  revealed,  was  therefore  the  great  object  of  exist- 
ence for  them,  not  that  they  could  thereby  alter  in  the  least 
their  future  state,  but  that  they  might,  if  possible,  find  out  what 
it  was  likely  to  be. 

"  Should  this  recital  of  their  beliefs  provoke  a  smile,  our 
amusement  will  soon  be  checked  by  the  thought  of  the  little 
progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  last  two  hundred  years 
towards  solving  the  same  problems.  The  origin  of  evil,  the 
ineradicable  tendency  of  the  human  heart  to  sin  and  do  evil, 
the  mournful  spectacle  of  ruin  and  desolation  in  the  moral 
world,  and  the  future  life  are  the  same  inscrutable  mysteries 
to  us  as  to  them.  If  we  have  constructed  or  adopted  a  more 
comfortable  theology,  it  is  probably  because  we  are  less  logical 
than  they.  It  is  perhaps  because  we  have  forgotten  or  refused 
to  look  at  some  things  at  which  they  did  not  blink. 

"  Then,  too,  the  Lord  was  abroad  in  those  days.  Their 
thoughts  were  deeply  tinged  by  the  semi-pagan  views  with 
which  the  authors  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were 
imbued.  When  the  thunder  crashed,  it  was  the  voice  of  an 
angry  God  that  spoke.  When  the  lightning  flashed,  it  was 
the  gleam  of  His  angry  eye.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  then  but 
a  year  old,  and  electricity  had  not  become  the  packhorse  of  the 
world.  The  smiles  and  frowns  of  nature  in  all  her  varying 
moods  through  all  the  days  and  seasons,  which  we  ascribe  to 
the  operations  of  law,  were  to  them  the  visible  tokens  of  the 
wrath  or  favor  of  the  Almighty.  On  December  11,  1719,  for 


270  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Colony,  the  northern  lights 
were  seen  here.  They  shone  with  the  greatest  brilh'ancy.  The 
consternation  they  caused  was  fearful.  The  people  had  never 
heard  of  such  a  phenomenon.  They  considered  it  the  opening 
scene  of  the  Day  of  Judgment.  All  amusement  was  given  up, 
all  business  was  forsaken,  and  sleep  itself  was  interrupted  for 
days.  Again,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  October,  1727,  a  mighty 
earthquake  occurred,  which  shook  with  tremendous  violence  the 
whole  Atlantic  seaboard.  The  people  here  believed  that  the 
Lord  was  about  to  swallow  them  up  in  His  fierce  anger.  The 
women  throughout  New  England  immediately  discontinued  the 
wearing  of  hoop  skirts,  then  recently  come  into  fashion,  believ- 
ing that  the  earthquake  was  the  sign  of  the  Lord's  displeasure 
at  the  sinful  innovation. 

"  Hardly  had  the  first  settlers  here  begun  to  build  perma- 
nent homes  for  the  living  when  they  were  called  upon  to  pro- 
vide resting  places  for  the  dead.  The  first  person  to  be  buried 
in  yonder  burying  ground  was  a  child,  a  girl,  Mary,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Bostwick.  The  next  was  John  Noble,  the  first 
settler  and  the  first  Town  Clerk.  He  died  August  17,  1714. 
The  town  formally  laid  out  the  burying  ground  in  1716.  With- 
in fifty  years  three  hundred  had  gone  to  rest  there. 

"  There  were  no  religious  exercises  at  the  funerals,  neither 
singing,  praying,  preaching,  nor  reading  of  the  Scriptures. 
This  was  by  way  of  revolt  from  former  superstitious  practices. 
The  friends  gathered,  condoled  with  the  afflicted  ones,  sat 
around  a  while,  and  then  the  corpse  was  taken  to  the  burying 
ground.  After  that  the  party  returned  to  the  house  of  the 
deceased,  where  much  eating  and  drinking  was  indulged  in, 
and,  if  the  weather  permitted,  outdoor  games  and  horse  races 
were  in  order.  The  next  Sabbath  an  appropriate  funeral  ser- 
mon was  preached.  A  bereaved  husband  or  wife  usually  soon 
married  again. 

"  The  meeting-house  was  never  heated,  but  the  people,  sum- 
moned by  drum  beat,  attended  it  every  Sabbath,  morning  and 
afternoon,  even  in  the  severest  weather,  although  no  Sabbath 
Day  house  was  erected  here  until  1745. 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  271 

"  The  sacramental  bread  often  froze  upon  the  communion 
plate,  as  did  the  ink  in  the  minister's  study.  The  people  worked 
their  minister  very  hard,  as  was  the  case  in  all  early  New  Eng- 
land communities.  They  went  to  church  not  so  much  because 
they  had  to  as  because  they  wanted  to.  Church-going  was  their 
principal  recreation.  They  demanded  long  prayers  and  two 
long  sermons  each  Sabbath  from  their  minister,  usually  on 
doctrinal  points,  which  they  acutely  criticised.  Services  began 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  continued  until  five  in  the 
afternoon,  with  an  hour's  intermission.  Soldiers,  fully  armed, 
were  always  in  attendance  throughout  the  services  ready  to 
repel  any  attack  upon  the  settlement.  It  should  be  added,  how- 
ever, that  with  all  their  strictness  in  Sabbath-keeping  and  cate- 
chising, in  family  and  church  discipline,  there  was  great  license 
in  those  days  in  speech  and  manner,  much  hard  drinking,  and 
rude  merry-making,  due  to  their  rough  form  of  living.  They 
were  not  what  they  wanted  to  be,  nor  what  a  loyal  posterity 
perhaps  longs  to  believe  them.  They  had  red  blood  in  their 
veins.  They  were  among  the  most  enterprising  men  of  their 
generation.  They  were  backwoodsmen,  the  vanguard  of  that 
wonderful  race  which  in  two  hundred  years  pushed  westward 
the  frontier  from  this  place  to  the  Pacific,  fighting  with  man 
and  beast  the  whole  way,  and  sowed  the  land  with  vigorous 
sons  and  daughters. 

"  The  congregational  singing  in  those  days  must  have  been 
an  interesting  performance.  When  the  first  settlers  came  to 
New  England  from  the  old  country,  they  brought  with  them 
a  few  tunes,  to  which  they  sang  all  the  psalms  and  hymns. 

"  The  proper  mode  of  rendering  these  was  through  the  nose. 
With  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  advent  of  a  new  generation, 
these  tunes  became  jangled  together  in  inextricable  confusion. 
The  practice  was  for  a  deacon  as  leader  to  read  a  line  of  the 
psalm  or  hymn,  and  the  congregation  then  sang  at  it  as  best 
they  could,  each  one  using  such  tune  as  he  chose,  and  often 
sliding  from  one  tune  to  another  in  the  same  line  or  improvising 
as  he  went  on.  Finally,  in  1721,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Walter  of 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  published  a  treatise  upon  the  grounds  or  rules 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

of  music,  or  an  introduction  to  the  art  of  singing  by  rote,  con- 
taining twenty-four  tunes  harmonized  into  three  parts.  The 
attempt  to  supersede  the  old  Puritan  tunes  and  restrict  the 
liberty  of  the  individual  singers  met  with  the  greatest  opposi- 
tion and  was  long  successfully  resisted  in  all  the  churches  in 
New  England,  so  tenacious  were  they  of  the  rights  of  the  indi- 
vidual singer.  It  caused  great  dissension  in  the  church  at  this 
place.  Finally,  in  February,  1740,  the  church  voted  to  halve 
the  time  for  the  next  year,  singing  the  old  way  one  Sabbath 
and  the  new  way  the  next,  and  in  1741,  at  a  meeting  specially 
called  to  settle  the  matter,  it  was  voted  thirty  to  sixteen  to  sing 
thereafter  after  the  new  way. 

"  No  musical  instruments  were  allowed  in  the  meeting-house. 
They  had  never  seen  or  heard  a  church  organ.  But  they  knew 
that  their  fathers  likened  its  sound  to  the  bellowing  of  a  bull, 
the  grunting  of  a  pig,  and  the  barking  of  a  dog,  and  had  re- 
sisted its  use  in  religious  services  even  to  the  shedding  of  blood. 
Nor  were  flowers  allowed  in  the  church. 

"  In  those  days  in  New  England  women  were  not  thought 
to  have  minds  worth  educating,  and  they  were  brought  up  in 
extreme  illiteracy.  Nevertheless,  their  natural  wit,  brightness, 
and  good  sense  made  them  very  agreeable  companions  of  the 
superior  sex.  And  their  influence  over  their  husbands,  sons, 
and  brothers  was  quite  as  great  as  that  of  their  more  cultivated 
daughters  of  the  present  day.  The  refining,  educating,  stim- 
ulating influence  of  the  women  had  much  to  do  in  withstanding 
that  tendency  back  to  barbarism  which  life  in  an  isolated  and 
new  community  led  to.  The  debt  which  is  owed  to  them  is 
incalculable. 

"  As  the  descendants  of  these  people  assemble  here  to-day, 
after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years,  to  commemorate  their 
work  and  rejoice  in  all  the  strength,  beauty,  and  order,  now 
smiling  around  us  in  peace  and  plenty,  which  have  grown  out 
of  what  they  began,  and  as  we  look  back  upon  their  condition, 
trials,  and  experiences,  we  are  apt  to  imagine  that  their  lot, 
contrasted  with  our  own,  was  an  unhappy  one.  Nothing  could 
be  further  from  the  truth.  They  were  a  brave,  hardy,  thrifty, 


THE  HISTORICAL  MEETING  278 

frugal,  industrious,  and  most  capable  people.  Man  for  man, 
and  woman  for  woman,  they  were  probably  superior  to  those 
here  to-day  in  faculty,  and  in  the  capacity  for  healthy  enjoy- 
ment. Their  whole  previous  lives  had  inured  them  to  their 
experiences.  They  were  the  sons  and  grandsons  of  the  original 
pioneers  of  New  England,  and  they  had  been  born  and  reared 
in  rude  settlements.  They  never  indulged  the  delusion  that  this 
region  was  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Before  they 
came  they  knew  that  they  were  to  wrest  their  living  from  an 
uncongenial  soil,  to  struggle  with  penury,  and  to  conquer  only 
by  constant  toil  and  by  self-denying  thrift.  The  forest  would 
supply  them  with  the  materials  for  shelter  and  fuel  and  to  some 
extent  with  food  and  clothing.  All  the  rest  must  depend  upon 
their  own  exertions.  There  was  a  pleasure  in  facing  and  over- 
coming the  perils  and  difficulties  which  they  encountered  which 
those,  more  delicately  reared,  who  live  here  now  can  never  know. 
Their  individual  helplessness  in  the  face  of  appalling  obstacles 
to  be  met  but  bound  them  closer  together  in  mutual  helpfulness. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  their  social  faculties  were  highly  de- 
veloped. It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  sum  total  of 
human  pleasure  among  the  whole  five  thousand  inhabitants  of 
the  town  to-day  is  any  greater  than  it  was  among  the  few  hun- 
dred who  settled  it.  Probably  our  own  superabundance  of  good 
things  has  actually  lessened  our  capacity  to  enjoy,  in  compar- 
ison with  theirs.  Their  simple  tastes  and  homely  joys  amid 
their  rude  surroundings  were  probably  more  productive  of 
positive  pleasure  and  real  happiness  than  all  the  refinement  and 
culture  of  our  twentieth  century  civilization. 

"  It  would  be  a  pleasing  and  instructive  task  to  trace  the 
progress  of  this  old  town  from  those  rude  beginnings  to  its 
present  strength  and  wealth.  But  the  limits  of  the  time  and 
subject  allotted  to  me  on  this  occasion  forbid.  It  is  the  prod- 
uct of  the  labors  of  eight  generations,  who  now  sleep  beneath 
its  soil.  They  never  could  have  foreseen  the  present.  They 
never  knew  or  thought  of  us.  Each  generation  was  busy  with 
its  own  problems,  tasks,  and  experiences. 

"  As   we   look   back   upon   them   our   hearts    are   filled   with 


274  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

gratitude  for  the  results  of  their  work.  A  clean-blooded,  land- 
loving,  thrifty  race,  through  their  activities  they  escaped  from 
the  poverty  of  their  beginnings  and  attained  unto  an  almost 
ideal  abundance  of  the  primal  needs  of  civilization.  Their 
physical  condition  became  probably  as  good  as  that  of  any 
other  village  community  in  the  world.  Their  experiences  stim- 
ulated their  intellectual  life  into  full  activity,  and  they  bore 
their  full  share  in  the  wonderful  work  which  Connecticut  has 
done  in  the  world.  In  all  critical  times  in  both  State  and 
nation,  the  sons  of  New  Milford,  both  native  and  adopted, 
have  been  very  active  and  influential,  and  one  of  them,  Roger 
Sherman,  performed  a  work  which  will  last  as  long  as  this 
nation  shall  continue  to  be  free  and  independent,  or  as  long 
as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  shall  endure. 

"  We  know  that  the  past  two  hundred  years  are  but  the  be- 
ginning of  a  long  history  of  this  town.  We  believe  that  as  the 
years  roll  by,  at  the  close  of  each  century  of  its  life,  the  events 
of  this  day  will  be  repeated  here.  Wha^  will  be  the  lot  of  those 
who  shall  stand  here,  one  two,  three,  and  four  hundred  years 
hence,  to  recall  the  origin  and  history  of  this  town,  we  cannot 
conceive.  Our  hope  is  that  it  will  be  as  peaceful,  as  prosper- 
ous, and  as  contented  as  our  own. 

"  Whatever  it  shall  be,  we  expect  that  their  desire  to  know 
what  can  be  known  of  that  long-vanished  world,  in  which  both 
present  and  future  have  their  roots,  will  lead  them  to  examine 
the  memorial  of  what  is  said  and  done  here  to-day.  We  are  not 
more  sure  that  the  Housatonic  will  then  be  flowing  than  that 
they  will  share  with  us  in  affectionate  interest  in  what  has  gone 
before." 

The  rendering  of  the  "  Star  Spangled  Banner  "  and  several 
other  selections  by  Prof.  Clemence's  Bi-Centennial  Chorus  was 
an  inspiring  feature  of  the  Historical  Meeting. 


THE    COLONIAL    RECEPTION 

SOON  after  the  close  of  the  Historical  Meeting,  the  booming 
of  cannon  announced  the  arrival  in  New  Milford  of  Governor 
Woodruff,  his  staff  and  a  detail  of  the  Governor's  Foot  Guard. 
They  were  met  at  the  railroad  station  by  a  train  of  automobiles, 
in  which  they  were  taken,  after  a  short  ride  about  the  village, 
to  Ingleside  School,  where  they  dined  in  the  company  of  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  citizens. 

Promptly  at  8:30  o'clock,  the  gubernatorial  party  arrived 
at  Roger  Sherman  Hall,  where  it  was  arranged  that  they 
should  meet  the  people  of  the  town,  and  entered  it  by  a  side 
door.  Before  the  main  door  was  opened  for  the  admission  of 
the  general  public,  seats  were  given  upon  the  stage  and  on  the 
floor  of  the  hall  in  front  of  the.  wings  on  either  side  to  the 
members  of  the  Colonial  Reception  Committee  and  of  the  Invi- 
tation, Reception,  and  Entertainment  Committee;  also  to  the 
following  persons,  who  had  been  requested  by  these  commit- 
tees to  assist  them  in  receiving: 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  F.  Addis,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Baldwin,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  C.  Barker,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  G.  Barnes,  Miss  Mary 
Barton,  Miss  Hattie  Bassett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Beach,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  S.  C.  Beach,  Miss  Charlotte  B.  Bennett,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  F.  Bennett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  P.  Bentley,  Miss  Helen 
M.  Boardman,  Miss  Kate  T.  Boardman,  Miss  Ruth  Booth, 
Miss  Lena  Botsford,  Miss  Bessie  Brown,  Miss  Adaline  Buck, 
Miss  Alice  Buck,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Donnelly,  Miss  Susie  C. 
Erwin,  Miss  Minnie  A.  Ferriss,  Miss  Jeannette  Gaylord,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Minot  S.  Giddings,  W.  G.  Green,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S. 
S.  Green,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  N.  Hall,  Miss  Elsie  Hall,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  H.  D.  Hine,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Halpine,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  H. 
Jackson,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  F.  A.  Johnson,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  F.  E. 
King,  Mrs.  W.  F.  Kinney,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Kyle,  Miss 

275 


276  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Carrie  Marsh,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chauncey  Marsh,  A.  H.  Mc- 
Mahon,  Miss  Grace  Merwin,  Mr.  Perry  Green,  Mr.  C.  H. 
Noble  and  sister,  Miss  Lizzie  Noble,  W.  B.  Pell,  Mrs.  Petti- 
bone,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Plumb,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  L.  Randall,  Miss 
Juliette  Rogers,  Mrs.  Wm.  Schoverling,  Miss  Harriet  V.  Sher- 
man, Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  E.  Starr,  Miss  Minnie  Toussaint,  F.  M. 
Williams,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  G.  H.  Wright. 

The  New  Milford  Cadets  (Captain  Gifford  Noble)  were 
drawn  up  as  guard  of  honor  about  the  hall,  forming  an  aisle 
around  an  open  square,  through  which  the  people  walked  as 
they  advanced  to  greet  the  Governor  and  passed  out  again 
after  shaking  his  hand.  The  members  of  the  staff,  in  full  uni- 
form, were  in  front  of  the  stage  and  back  of  the  Governor, 
while,  to  the  right  and  left  of  them,  the  detail  from  the  Foot 
Guard  were  stationed  as  a  special  guard.  By  the  side  of  his 
Excellency  stood  W.  Frank  Kinney,  the  chairman  of  the 
Bi-Centennial  Invitation,  Reception  and  Entertainment  Com- 
mittee, who  presented  every  one  by  name.  There  were  many 
Colonial  costumes,  many  gay  uniforms,  and  many  elaborate 
evening  toilettes.  In  the  exquisite  setting  provided  by  the  pale 
blue,  white  and  yellow  colonial  draperies  and  festoons  with 
which  the  hall  was  most  artistically  decorated,  the  reception 
offered  an  exceptionally  brilliant  spectacle.  In  fact,  it  was 
probably  the  most  striking  affair  of  its  kind  New  Milford  has 
ever  witnessed. 

Dancing  was  begun,  to  the  music  of  Gartland's  Band,  when 
the  handshaking  was  over,  and  was  kept  up  for  two  or  three 
hours  after  the  Governor  and  his  party  had  retired. 

Governor  Woodruff  was  also  entertained  in  the  rooms  of 
the  Commercial  Club ;  in  Odd  Fellows'  and  Masonic  Hall,  where 
he  was  formally  welcomed  by  Henry  O.  Warner,  Past  Master 
of  the  New  Milford  Masonic  lodge ;  and  by  the  New  Milford 
Fire  Department,  in  their  quarters,  where  he  was  welcomed  by 
Chief  John  F.  Addis,  who  presented  him  with  an  engrossed  cer- 
tificate of  honorary  membership  in  Water  Witch  Hose  Com- 
pany, No.  2. 


GOVERNOR'S    DAY 

ON  Tuesday,  the  culminating  day  of  the  Bi-Centennial  Cele- 
bration, New  Milford  possessed  a  population  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand — the  largest,  probably, 
of  any  moment  in  its  history.  The  heat  was  intense,  and  some 
were  so  tactless  as  to  prophesy  showers.  Others — and  these 
were  right — scoffed  at  such  a  possibility,  basing  their  optimism 
on  the  fact  that  the  new  uniforms  of  the  Governor's  staff  had 
never  yet  been  wet  and  that  New  Milford  was  not  going  to  be 
ungracious  enough  to  be  instrumental  in  wetting  them. 

The  forenoon  was  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  the  Civic 
and  Military  Parade,  which  was  scheduled  to  begin  at  noon. 
Only  a  few  minutes  after  the  time  appointed,  the  column  began 
to  move  in  the  following  order: 

FORMATION    OF    PARADE 

CHIEF   MARSHAL  SAMUEL   R.    HILL   IN    CHARGE. 

First  Division 

Platoon  of  Police,  Capt.  David  Bradley  of  Danbury 

Chief  Marshal  and  Staff  (Perry  Green,  Noble  Booth,  Charles 

Pomeroy,  Madeline  Dodd,  Louise  Beeman.) 

Gartland's  Tenth  Regiment  Band 

Second  Company,  Governor's  Foot  Guards,  Major  Weed 
Governor  Rollin  S.  Woodruff  and  Staff 

Bugle  Corps 
Company  G,  Third  Infantry,  C.  N.  G.,  Captain  Ryder 

Upton  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  John  F.  Williams 

New  Milford  Cadets,  Captain  Gifford  Noble 

Official  Guests  in  Carriages 

277 


278  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Second  Division 

Marshal   David    E.    Soule    and    Staff    (Dr.    C.    B.    Blackmail, 
George  Dean,  Louis  Wilton) 

Second  Regiment  Band 
Water  Witch  Hose  Company,  No.  2,  of  New  Milf ord 

Danbury  Military  Band 

Litchfield  Fire  Department 

American  Brass  Band  of  Waterbury 

Fountain  Hose  Company,  No.  1,  of  Ansonia 

Holt's  American  Band  of  New  Haven 
Echo  Hose,  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  of  Shelton 

Ansonia  Brass  Band 
Eagle  Hose,  Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  No.  6,  of  Ansonia 

Bethel  Drum  Corps 
Danbury  Volunteer  Fire  Department 

Third  Division 

Marshal  George  E.  Ackley  and  Staff  (Granville  Breinig,  W. 

M.  Keeler,  Clifford  A.  Trowbridge) 

Boys  of  Center  High  School,  Marching  in  Costume 

School  Children  in  Floats  in  District  Order 

Fourth  Division 

Marshal  Henry  O.  Warner  and  Staff   (James  Marsh,  W.  C. 

Beeman,  Clifford  Marsh) 

Wheeler  &  Wilson  Band  of  Bridgeport  (by  courtesy  of  Roger 

Sherman  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.) 

Colonial  Features 

Industrial  Floats 

There  were  more  military  organizations,  fire  companies,  drum 
corps,  and  brass  bands  in  line,  probably,  than  had  ever  been 
seen  at  one  time  in  New  Milford,  and  they  elicited  by  their 
brilliant  uniforms,  stirring  music,  and  fine  marching  the  admira- 
tion and  the  hearty  applause  of  the  crowds  massed  along  the 
line  of  march ;  but  the  features  which  differentiated  this  parade 
from  all  previous  ones,  which  lent  it  special  distinction,  and 


GOVEKNOE'S  DAY  279 

which  will  make  it  memorable  as  long  as  the  youngest  persons 
who  witnessed  it  shall  survive,  were  the  school  floats,  the  Colo- 
nial floats,  and  industrial  floats  of  the  Third  and  Fourth  divi- 
sions. 

The  school  features  were  as  follows: 

Boys  of  the  Center  School  costumed  as  Indians  and  farmers 
— the  Indians  emitting  blood-curdling  war-whoops  from  time 
to  time. 

Pony  cart  trimmed  with  pink  and  white  containing  members 
of  "  Miss  Treat's  class  "  representing  butterflies. 

Float  of  "Room  1"  (Center  School),  trimmed  with  white 
and  yellow,  carrying  under  a  canopy  twenty  girls  dressed  in 
white.  It  was  drawn  by  two  sorrel  horses  also  trimmed  with 
white  and  yellow. 

Another  float  of  "  Room  1  "  trimmed  with  flags  and  bunting. 
It  contained  twenty-three  girls  and  was  drawn  by  four  horses. 

Flower  girls  dressed  in  pink  and  green — to  represent  the 
petals  and  sepals  of  flowers — on  a  "  Cinderella  "  float  provided 
with  a  pink  canopy.  It  was  drawn  by  a  pair  of  black  horses. 

Float  of  "Rooms  5  and  6"  (Center  School),  trimmed 
mostly  with  green  and  white  and  carrying  twenty-four  girls. 
It  was  drawn  by  black  horses  which  were  decorated  with  flags. 

Float  of  "  Rooms  7  and  8 "  (Center  School),  green  and 
white — stars  of  green  laurel  against  white  bunting — carrying 
twenty  children  in  white  wearing  white  wreaths. 

Float  of  "Rooms  3  and  4"  (Center  School),  yellow  and 
white,  carrying  forty  children  under  a  canopy. 

Park  Lane  Float,  pink  and  white,  carrying  thirty-one  chil- 
dren— the  girls  wearing  white  gowns  with  pink  sashes.  It  was 
drawn  by  iron-gray  horses  wearing  pink  and  white  harnesses. 
David  Rothe's  dog,  trimmed  with  white,  blue,  and  pink,  rode 
proudly  on  the  driver's  seat  beside  the  driver. 

Hill  and  Plain  Float,  decorated  with  evergreens,  bunting, 
and  flags. 

Second  Hill  Float,  representing  an  open  trolley  car,  bearing 
the  legends — "  Second  Hill  Traction  Co.,"  "  Cross  Town,"  and 
"  Fireworks  To-night  " — and,  in  the  advertising  spaces,  cards 


280  THE  BI-CENTENNIAI,  EXERCISES 

provided  by  the  village  merchants.  The  conductor  amused  the 
spectators  greatly  by  the  tireless  energy  he  displaying  in  col- 
lecting and  ringing  up  the  fares.  This  float,  which  was 
trimmed  with  patriotic  bunting,  was  drawn  by  three  horses  and 
carried  thirty-five  children,  each  holding  a  flag.  It  was  de- 
signed by  Mrs.  Andrew  Clark. 

Upper  Merryall  Float,  decorated  with  red,  white  and  blue 
bunting.  It  was  drawn  by  black  horses  and  carried  twenty- 
two  children. 

Chestnut  Land  Float,  white  and  green — ground  pine  and 
laurel  against  white  bunting — carrying  forty  children.  It  was 
drawn  by  four  horses  decorated  with  greenery. 

Aspetuck  Float,  representing  a  sixteen-foot  flower-bordered 
birch-bark  canoe.  It  was  trimmed  with  garnet  and  gold  and 
was  provided  with  a  garnet  banner.  It  carried  sixteen  children 
(gaily  adorned  "  braves  "  and  maidens)  and  the  teacher. 

Boardman  Float,  decorated  with  flags  and  patriotic  bunt- 
ing, bearing  the  device,  "  1707-1907  "  in  green  letters  on  a 
white  ground.  It  carried  twenty-eight  children. 

Lower  Merryall  Float,  trimmed  with  Colonial  yellow,  white, 
and  blue  bunting  and  flying  a  big  flag.  The  children,  who  were 
seated  under  a  canopy,  wore  rosettes  of  the  same  colors.  Four 
footmen  in  yellow  walked  beside  it. 

Gaylordsville  and  Waller  Float,  decorated  with  bunting  and 
flags.  The  children,  fifteen  in  number,  sat  on  raised  seats,  one 
row  above  another,  and  held  flags  and  baskets  of  flowers.  It 
was  drawn  by  four  horses,  whose  driver  was  disguised  as  Uncle 
Sam. 

Northville  and  Hunt  Float,  a  "  little  red  schoolhouse." 
trimmed  with  evergreens.  It  was  drawn  by  two  yoke  of  Nelson 
Kenney's  steers.  Children  leaning  out  of  the  front  windows 
held  red,  white,  and  blue  ribbons,  which  were  attached  to  the 
horns  of  the  steers. 

Long  Mountain  Float,  decorated  with  white  bunting,  flags, 
and  ground  pine.  It  carried  twenty-two  children. 

Still  River  Float,  trimmed  with  flags,  plumes,  and  bunting, 
and  provided  with  a  white  canopy  and  a  bell.  It  was  drawn 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY  281 

by  four  horses  and  carried  thirty-five  children  (the  girls  in 
white  dresses,  the  boys  in  shirt  waists)  wearing  flag  sashes. 
The  teacher  sat  upon  a  throne. 

The  Colonial  features  of  the  parade  were  preceded  by  a  man 
carrying  a  beautiful  blue  and  gold  banner  of  Roger  Sherman 
Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  Charles  G.  Peck  of  Newtown  in  Colonial 
costume  on  his  famous  high-stepping  horse,  and  the  Wheeler 
&  Wilson  Band  of  Bridgeport — the  first  and  last  named,  by 
courtesy  of  and  at  the  expense  of  Roger  Sherman  Chapter, 
D.  A.  R. 

Next  came  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Lee  of  the  Brookfield  Drum 
Corps  in  Colonial  costumes  with  drum  and  fife;  and  Joseph 
Cowan,  Fred  Kinbloe,  and  William  Cogswell  in  Indian  costume 
on  horseback,  the  last  named  being  a  descendant  of  the 
Schaghticoke  tribe  of  Indians. 

Next,  a  float  with  a  log  cabin  representing  the  one  built  by 
John  Noble,  the  first  white  settler  in  New  Milford.  Chauncey 
B.  Marsh  and  his  little  daughter,  Esther  Noble  Marsh,  seven 
years  old,  rode  on  this  float,  in  the  doorway  of  the  cabin,  im- 
personating John  Noble  and  his  little  daughter.  A  watch-dog 
was  chained  beside  the  door,  a  musket  hung  over  the  door,  and, 
during  the  early  part  of  the  parade,  smoke  issued  from  the 
cabin  chimney.  The  float  was  drawn  by  oxen. 

Back  of  this  was  started  Jim  Harris,  better  known  as  "  Jim 
Pan,"  the  last  of  the  Pequots,  and  the  only  full-blooded  Indian 
left  in  the  Schaghticoke  Reservation.  Having  filled  up  with 
firewater  before  the  parade  started,  he  soon  left  the  Colonial 
section,  marched  most  of  the  route  with  the  fire  companies,  and 
ended  up  among  the  Governor's  Foot  Guards.  He  lost  only  his 
wig  in  the  shuffle,  the  rest  of  his  Indian  suit  begin  securely 
strapped  upon  him. 

Next  came  Mrs.  R.  S.  Todd  and  her  daughter,  Parthenia,  in 
an  old-fashioned  chaise,  with  a  dignified  colored  footman  on 
the  rumble — all  attired  in  Colonial  costume,  the  ladies  wearing 
sun-bonnets  and  dimity  gowns. 

Next,  Andrew  Humeston,  on  horseback,  with  his  sister,  Atha- 
lia,  on  a  pillion,  attired  as  a  Quaker  and  Quakeress.  Mr. 


282  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Humeston's  real  white  fur  Quaker  hat,  which  he  went  far  afield 
lo  get  for  this  occasion,  was  a  relic  well  worth  seeing. 

Next,  Samuel  Porter  and  Charles  Donnelly,  also  on  horse- 
back, as  a  bride  and  groom  of  Colonial  times.  The  saddle  and 
pillion  used  by  this  happy  pair  were  very  interesting. 

Next,  a  float  with  six  young  ladies  in  old-time  costume  oper- 
ating different  spinning  and  flax  wheels.  This  float  was  deco- 
rated with  dark  green  and  bore  the  inscription,  "HOMESPUN 
DAYS."  The  young  ladies  were  Miss  Florence  Merwin,  Miss 
Elsie  Hall,  Miss  Julie  Barker,  Virginia  Stevens  (Miss  Barker's 
little  niece,  three  years  old),  Miss  Flora  Stilson,  and  Miss  Min- 
nie Toussaint.  The  float  was  drawn  by  oxen. 

Dr.  Griswold  Bragaw,  in  Colonial  costume,  rode  a  horse  fol- 
lowing this  float. 

Next  came  a  carriage,  said  to  be  one  hundred  years  old, 
brought  from  Merryall  and  driven  by  two  boys  in  Indian  cos- 
tume. 

The  last  float  represented  the  different  styles  of  dress  of 
periods  fifty  years  apart  in  New  Milford  history.  Mr.  Fred- 
erick N.  Fowler  and  Mrs.  William  Percy  wore  the  costume  of 
1707;  Willis  Barton  and  Miss  Hattie  Bassett,  that  of  1757; 
Merrit  Merwin  and  Miss  Grace  Merwin,  that  of  1807;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Frederick  E.  Starr,  that  of  1857,  and  Arthur  Brown 
and  Miss  Bessie  Brown,  that  of  1907.  This  float  was  canopied 
with  yellow  and  bore  the  inscription,  "  TIMES  AND  COSTUMES 
CHANGE." 

Wm.  W.  Stilson  impersonated  the  "  Town  Crier  "  and,  ring- 
ing a  huge  bell,  was  typical  in  every  way  of  that  old-time 
character. 

The  yellow  and  dark  green  draperies  which  concealed  the 
base  of  all  these  Colonial  floats  gave  them  a  highly  finished 
appearance. 

The  industrial  features  of  the  Parade  were: 

Float  of  the  Bridgeport  Wood  Finishing  Company,  deco- 
rated with  the  national  colors  and  displaying  the  signs, 
"Wheeler's  Patent  Wood  Filler,"  "Paint  That  Lasts,"  etc. 
It  carried  boxes  and  cans  of  the  company's  products  and  pieces 
of  silex  in  its  natural  state. 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY  283 

Float  of  G.  B.  Shiappacassee,  the  Bank  Street  fruit  dealer, 
—a  brand  new  wagon  decorated  with  the  national  colors  and 
carrying  oranges,  bananas  and  pineapples,  arranged  with  a  fine 
consideration  for  color  and  form. 

Float  of  the  New  Milford  Hat  Company,  decorated  with 
the  national  colors  and  carrying  a  group  of  hat-makers,  who 
gave  a  practical  illustration,  along  the  line  of  march,  of  the 
different  processes  of  hat-making. 

A  tobacco  float  displaying  the  firm  names — S.  Rossin  &  Son, 
J.  Lichtenstein,  C.  F.  Schoverling  &  Co.,  Staubb  &  Mallett, 
J.  Marquesee — and  the  legend,  "  NEW  MILFORD  SUPPLIES  THE 
WORLD  WITH  TOBACCO,"  and  carrying  a  large  number  of  to- 
bacco boxes. 

Float  of  W.  H.  Coleman,  a  new  milk  wagon  decorated  with 
the  national  colors  and  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Conetia  Farm 
Dairy." 

Float  of  Chauncey  B.  Marsh,  proprietor  of  a  New  Milford 
saw-mill,  decorated  with  white  and  green  and  carrying  wedge, 
ax,  saw  and  chain,  and  an  enormous  artificial  log,  which  two 
dummies  sawed  persistently  with  a  cross-cut  saw. 

Float  of  the  Aspetuck  Valley  Grange,  decorated  with  green 
and  white,  roofed  over  with  grain,  and  displaying  the  principal 
implements  of  husbandry  and  the  principal  products  thereof. 

Float  of  the  ice  dealer,  Samuel  J.  Ferriss — a  capital,  white 
cotton  imitation  of  a  snow-bank  between  snow-laden  "  Christ- 
mas trees."  Upon  this  float  rode  two  small  boys  (S.  Boynton 
and  Charles  J.,  sons  of  Mr.  Ferriss),  offering  dippers  of  ice. 

After  passing  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  village, 
the  parading  column  was  reviewed  from  the  reviewing  stand  on 
the  village  "  Green  "  by  Governor  Woodruff  and  his  staff  and 
other  distinguished  visitors.  The  paraders  were  then  disbanded 
and  provided  by  the  Committee  on  Refreshments  with  abundant 
good  cheer  in  a  colossal  dining  tent  back  of  the  Knapp  build- 
ing. 

After  dinner,  at  two  o'clock,  the  last  formal  exercises  of  the 
Bi-Centennial  were  held  on  "  The  Green,"  Charles  M.  Beach 
presiding.  In  introducing  the  first  speaker,  Rev.  Timothy  J. 
Lee,  Mr.  Beach  said: 


284  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

*'  There  is  much  cause  for  regret  that,  on  account  of  ill 
health,  our  President,  Mr.  Henry  S.  Mygatt,  has  been  unable 
to  be  present  or  to  take  any  part  in  the  exercises  of  this  Cele- 
bration. It  was  at  his  suggestion  that  the  movement  was  in- 
augurated bringing  about  this  event,  and  we  all  know  that  he 
worked  most  heartily  and  earnestly  for  its  success.  I  am  sure 
that  there  is  a  universal  feeling  of  sympathy  for  him  in  the 
keen  disappointment  which  is  his.  Because  of  his  absence,  the 
duty  devolves  on  me  to  take  charge  of  the  exercises  of  the  day. 

"  The  first  address  will  be  words  of  greeting  by  the  Rev.  T. 
J.  Lee,  a  former  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church.  Mr. 
Lee  comes  to  us  as  a  representative  of  two  of  the  oldest  fam- 
ilies in  New  Milford,  Mrs.  Lee  being  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
Rev.  Daniel  Boardman,  who  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  old  Con- 
gregational Church,  and  also  of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Taylor, 
who  was  inaugurated  its  second  pastor  in  the  year  1748,  and 
continued  the  pastorate  for  a  period  of  fifty  years. 

Among  other  things,  Mr.  Lee  said: 

"  The  other  day  I  met  one  of  our  recently  adopted  sons 
whose  home  is  in  the  great  West.  In  the  course  of  our  conver- 
sation I  referred  to  this  Bi-Centenary ;  but  he  pushed  the  sub- 
ject aside  as  trivial,  and  began  to  boast  of  his  own  great  State. 
'  Why,'  said  he,  *  you  can  put  twenty-two  Connecticuts  into 
our  Nebraska.'  Then  he  added  that  the  time  has  come  in  the 
history  of  our  country  when  we  can  cut  out  New  England  and 
not  feel  it.  Cut  New  England  out  from  the  great  life  of  this 
nation !  Yes,  you  may,  when  you  can  cut  out  a  thread  of  gold 
woven  in  and  out  in  a  beautiful  fabric  without  ruining  the  en- 
tire piece.  Cut  New  England  out!  Yes,  you  may,  when  you 
can  cut  out  from  the  loaf  the  leaven  that  has  made  it  sweet 
and  light.  Cut  New  England  out!  Yes,  you  may,  when,  with- 
out disfigurement,  you  can  cut  out  the  features  of  a  mother 
from  the  face  of  her  child.  There  may  come  a  time  in  some 
far-off  age  when  this  great  American  people  may  become  so 
afflicted  with  some  strange,  new  form  of  insanity  as  to  desire  to 
cut  out  from  its  vast  domain  that  sharp  northeastern  angle 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY  885 

which  was  alike  its  birthplace  and  its  cradle  and  the  seminary 
of  the  best  elements  of  its  greatness.  If  that  time  ever  comes, 
New  England,  true  to  her  ancestral  pride  (I  speak  as  one  who 
knows  and  loves  his  mother),  New  England  will  say  to  you: 
'  I  am  ready  to  go ;  I  desire  to  stay  no  longer  where  I  am  no 
longer  wanted.  But  first — first,  in  all  justice  and  fairness, 
give  me  back  some  of  the  contributions  I  have  made  to  your 
greatness.  Give  me  back  the  free,  forceful  words  which  from 
my  pulpit,  my  press,  and  my  platform  have  kindled  the  fires 
of  religion  and  of  patriotism,  and  quickened  the  intellectual 
life  of  generations.  Give  me  back  my  millions  of  capital  that 
have  stretched  across  the  broad  land  the  iron  bands  of  travel 
and  of  trade,  changed  the  Western  wilderness  into  a  smiling 
garden,  the  desert  into  a  fruitful  field.  Give  me  back  some  of 
the  descendants  of  those  loyal  sons  and  daughters  of  mine,  who, 
under  the  canvas  covers  of  those  old  emigrant  wagons,  car- 
ried with  them  not  merely  their  humble  household  goods,  but 
the  very  principles  of  their  nurture — give  me  back  these,  I  say, 
and  then,  if  you  do  not  feel  so  utterly  impoverished,  so 
stripped  of  everything  that  can  make  a  nation  great  and 
strong  and  enduring  as  to  repent  of  your  rashness  and  folly, 
I  will  go.' 

"  It  is  true  that  henceforth  New  England's  influence  in  the 
nation  will  not  be  that  of  numbers,  nor  of  territorial  great- 
ness, but  she  will  still  rule  by  the  force  of  ideas  and  convic- 
tions, by  the  sovereignty  of  principles  that  can  never  be  dis- 
crowned. 

Mr.  Beach  next  presented  Governor  Woodruff  in  these 
words : 

"  During  my  business  experience,  it  has  been  my  privilege 
to  make  many  congenial  acquaintances,  one  of  which  stands 
out  most  prominently  to-day.  A  number  of  years  ago,  a 
young  man  called  upon  us  representing  a  firm  with  which  we 
had  established  relations.  He  has  risen  step  by  step  in  his 
business  career,  until  he  now  occupies  a  position  at  the  head  of 
the  firm  which  he  then  represented.  A  few  years  ago  his  name 


286  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

became  mentioned  in  political  circles,  and  he  lias  risen  so  rap- 
idly in  this  sphere  that  he  comes  to  us  to-day  as  the  Chief  Ex- 
ecutive of  the  State. 

"  For  integrity  of  character,  for  honesty  of  purpose,  for 
having  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  he  is  a  Governor  whom 
the  people  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  will  do  well  to  honor. 
Roosevelt  at  Washington,  Hughes  at  Albany,  Woodruff  at 
Hartford,  are  the  type  of  public  officials  which  the  people 
want. 

"  It  is  my  very  great  pleasure,  as  well  as  honor,  to  present 
not  only  to  the  people  of  New  Milford,  but  also  to  the  guests 
whom  we  are  entertaining  to-day,  his  Excellency,  Rollin  S. 
Woodruff,  of  New  Haven,  Governor  of  Connecticut. 

Governor  Woodruff  said: 

"  My  friends,  I  am  very  glad  to  join  with  you  in  celebrating 
the  two  hundredth  birthday  of  the  settlement  of  New  Milford. 
This  commemoration  will  become  an  interesting  experience  in 
your  lives,  and  your  children  will  never  forget  the  history  that 
is  taught  them  by  this  event.  They  will  learn  of  the  early 
struggles  of  those  who  laid  the  solid  foundation  of  Connec- 
ticut, in  the  establishment  of  her  towns,  in  the  making  of  her 
laws,  and  building  of  a  great  commonwealth  out  of  the  ma- 
terials of  industry,  education,  and  patriotism. 

"  It  was  no  easy  task  your  forefathers  set  out  to  perform, 
when  they  determined  to  have  a  government  as  nearly  demo- 
cratic in  its  intention  as  it  was  possible  to  conceive.  The 
scheme  of  the  founders  of  our  State  was  to  insure  happiness 
for  all  by  making  all  the  people  independent  and  free  to  gov- 
ern themselves,  and  to  advance  themselves  in  a  way  that  had 
never  before  been  dreamed  of  by  any  race  of  men.  The  wisdom 
of  those  early  settlers  in  organizing  society  upon  a  liberal 
plane  seems  to  us  almost  marvelous.  What  they  hoped  for  has 
been  realized. 

"  The  people  who  founded  New  Milford  and  the  other  Con- 
necticut towns  were  unselfish.  They  planned  not  only  for  them- 
selves and  their  time,  but  they  planned  for  those  that  were  to 
come  after  them.  They  saw  through  the  years  what  might  be 


HONORABLE   ROLLIX   S.   WOODRUFF 
Governor  of  Connecticut 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY  287 

ours,  if  their  plans  prevailed.  They  saw  the  human  race  ris- 
ing to  its  highest  perfection  in  an  atmosphere  of  liberty  and 
of  opportunity.  Yet  their  most  daring  fancy  could  not  have 
pictured  this  surprising  scene  of  to-day.  They  were  rough 
and  rude  men  two  hundred  years  ago.  And  they  were  deter- 
mined men,  and  their  lives  were  the  serious  lives  of  hardship 
and  peril.  What  they  wanted  was  freedom  and  a  government 
that  would  keep  them  free.  They  wanted  to  do  what  was 
right — justice  to  all  men  was  the  motive  that  inspired  them. 
They  had  faith  in  themselves  and  believed  that  the  real  govern- 
ment was  that  which  came  from  the  people;  and  they  made 
their  laws  to  last  for  all  time,  trusting  to  the  people  the  re- 
sponsibility of  taking  care  of  themselves.  They  were  the 
fathers  of  freedom  in  its  truest  sense,  and  intended  to  leave 
their  children  a  house  that  was  built  upon  a  rock. 

"  In  all  this,  they  gave  evidence  of  the  very  noblest  patriot- 
ism, and  they  have  set  for  us  an  example  which  we  have  fol- 
lowed for  two  hundred  years — an  example  which  must  continue 
to  guide  us  in  our  government,  if  this  grand  development  of 
Connecticut  is  to  go  forward  to  its  highest  possibilities.  We 
must  keep  our  foundations  solid  and  build  for  the  future.  We 
must  grow  better  as  we  grow  older.  Our  lawmakers  must  be 
sincere  and  serious  men.  They  must  be  representative  in  the 
deepest  meaning  of  the  word,  for  the  whole  happiness  of  our 
people  depends  upon  the  making  and  the  administration  of 
laws  that  are  enacted  in  the  interest  of  all  the  people  of  our 
State,  and  our  representatives  should  be  held  responsible  for 
their  acts  at  the  polls.  The  rights  of  the  people  are  sacred 
and  must  be  kept  inviolate,  and  no  law  should  be  placed  upon 
the  statute  book  that  will  be  a  burden  to  the  people,  or  that 
takes  from  the  people  any  right  that  belongs  to  them  all.  Let 
there  be  no  hasty,  inconsiderate,  or  careless  legislation  that 
robs  them  of  their  own.  Great  privileges  should  never  be 
given  away  to  private  interests,  and  every  man's  property 
should  be  protected  throughout  the  State.  We  frequently  learn 
what  we  have  lost,  when  it  is  too  late.  I  do  not  mean  to  alarm 
you,  but  I  do  mean  to  warn  you  that  you  may  keep  guard 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

over  jour  right  against  oppression,  which  is  sure  to  come 
when  the  people  lose  interest  in  their  own  affairs. 

"  What  an  advancement  you  have  made  in  two  hundred 
years !  The  country  towns  of  to-day  share  with  the  large 
cities  all  modern  advantages.  Your  children  have  matchless 
chances  for  education,  and  your  commercial  conditions  offer 
every  opportunity  for  success  in  life.  The  farmer  of  to-day 
is  a  prince  among  farmers  and  lives  in  the  surroundings  of 
comfort  and  luxury :  with  vast  systems  of  water  supply ;  a  high 
sanitary  arrangement  protecting  health ;  gas  and  electricity 
for  light,  heat,  and  power;  the  telegraph  in  every  village,  and 
the  telephone  in  every  home  where  it  is  required ;  the  best  fa- 
cilities for  travel  at  your  doors — a  prosperity  in  business 
never  known  in  the  history  of  mankind.  All  men  are  educated 
by  the  affairs  of  the  hour,  and  all  men  think.  You  are  better 
equipped  to  govern  yourselves  than  any  people  in  the  world. 
Contrast  all  these  comforts  with  the  inconveniences  of  your 
ancestors,  and  tell  me  have  we  not  reason  to  rejoice  at  this 
Bi-Centennial  of  New  Milford? 

"  In  my  position  as  Governor  of  this  State  I  have  kept  stead- 
ily in  view  the  general  prosperity  of  all  the  people,  and  I 
have  always  believed  in  an  educated  public  sentiment  as  the 
safeguard  of  law  and  order  in  our  Commonwealth.  I  believe 
in  the  people  of  Connecticut  and  in  the  future  of  the  State; 
and  I  believe  that  the  more  interest  you  take  in  public  matters 
the  better  your  government  will  become.  I  want  to  congrat- 
ulate you  upon  the  growth  of  New  Milford,  and  thank  you 
sincerely  for  the  privilege  of  joining  in  this  triumphant  Cele- 
bration." 

Mr.  Beach  next  presented  Rev.  Watson  L.  Phillips,  D.  D., 
saying: 

"  At  this  time  it  is  in  my  power  to  speak  a  word  of  welcome 
to  my  comrades  of  the  Foot  Guard.  They  have  been  connected 
with  the  history  of  Connecticut  since  1775,  when  the  Company 
marched  out  to  Lexington  and  Concord.  It  has  not  been  my 
privilege  to  be  as  close  to  the  armory  as  I  should  have  liked, 
but  I  am  proud  to  belong  to  that  old  organization  which  has 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY 

done  so  much  for  the  honor  of  Connecticut,  and  I  will  simply 
ask  the  Chaplain  of  the  Company  to  speak  to  you  more  fluently 
than  I  can." 

Chaplain  Phillips  delivered  an  eloquent  eulogy  of  the  Foot 
Guard.  Among  other  things,  he  said: 

"  The  Second  Company  of  Governor's  Foot  Guards  was 
born  in  that  strenuous  time  when  ideas  were  crystallizing, 
opinions  taking  shape,  men  beginning  to  realize  something  of 
the  struggle  that  was  before  them ;  something  of  the  real  sig- 
nificance of  the  Mayflower,  of  the  Colonial  forms  of  govern- 
ment, and  of  those  acts  of  protest  by  which  the  colonies  had 
lifted  their  voices  against  the  usurpations  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. In  1775,  when  the  clouds  were  beginning  to  gather,  when 
men's  hearts  were  beginning  to  tremble  within  them  for  fear, 
this  company  was  born.  On  the  first  roster,  you  will  find  the 
names  of  the  leading  citizens  of  old  New  Haven  town.  The 
first  men  of  the  town  were  its  sponsors.  Back  of  them  was  a 
patriotic  and  humane  purpose,  and,  having  that  purpose  in 
view,  I  am  able  to  declare  that  we  are  the  oldest  military 
organization  of  the  sort  in  the  State. 

"  The  First  Company  in  Hartford  antedates  us  by  a  few 
months,  but  the  First  Company  was  what  its  name  implies,  the 
Governor's  Guard.  The  Second  Company  came  at  the  call  of 
the  danger  to  liberty  and  its  first  act  was  to  make  response  to 
the  call  of  Lexington  and  Concord.  Under  the  man,  then  a 
magnificent  patriot,  Benedict  Arnold,  the  company  marched  to 
the  defense  of  their  endangered  brethren  in  Massachusetts. 

"  And  these  men,  before  they  left,  listened  to  a  sermon  by 
Jonathan  Edwards,  the  benediction  of  which  went  with  them 
throughout  their  march.  They  marched  to  the  powder  house — 
they  asked  for  ammunition ;  the  selectmen  of  the  town  denied 
their  request.  Arnold  drew  up  his  men  before  the  door,  and 
said :  '  We  will  give  you  five  minutes  to  comply  with  our  re- 
quest ;  if  the  ammunition  is  not  then  forthcoming  we  will  break 
down  the  doors  and  help  ourselves.' 

"  That  was  the  spirit  with  which  they  started  on  their  march 
to  Cambridge,  and  that  spirit  has  animated  the  command 


290  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

through  all  these  years.  It  has  been  our  privilege  to  have 
been  represented  in  every  war  the  country  has  waged  from 
1775  to  the  present  day,  beginning  with  the  attack  upon  West 
Haven,  to  repel  which  the  company  marched  as  a  body  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Hezekiah  Sabin.  Down  through  all 
the  wars  and  in  the  most  conspicuous  battles,  representatives 
of  this  Governor's  Guard  have  been  found,  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der with  the  patriots  of  other  States  and  other  towns,  contend- 
ing for  our  liberties." 

The  next  speaker,  Hon.  Ebenezer  J.  Hill,  was  presented  as 
one  who  needs  no  introduction  to  New  Milford.  Congress- 
man Hill  said: 

"  One  year  ago  I  united  with  some  of  your  citizens  in  cele- 
brating the  fiftieth  birthday  of  New.Milford's  offspring,  the 
town  of  Bridgewater. 

"  To-day  I  congratulate  you  that  the  parent  has  reached 
the  hale  and  hearty  age  of  two  hundred  years. 

"  While  New  Milford  has  had  many  trials  and  sore  experi- 
ences, the  old  town  shows  no  wrinkles,  or  scars,  but  is  fresh  and 
blooming  and  ready  to  enter  upon  the  third  century  of  its 
career  with  a  courageous  heart  and  unfaltering  purpose  to 
maintain  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  splendid  character 
of  our  New  England  civilization. 

"  There  is  no  higher  standard  in  the  world  than  that,  for 
it  was  established  in  the  beginning  of  our  history  by  men  who 
feared  none  but  God.  Our  fathers  built  upon  the  granite  hills 
of  New  England  communities  and  States,  which,  though  small 
in  area,  have  been  mighty  in  influence,  molding  and  shaping 
the  destiny  of  the  nation,  and  through  it  giving  to  the  whole 
world  an  example  of  self-government,  based  on  the  sanctity  of 
the  home,  the  common  school,  freedom  of  religion,  and  the 
New  England  town  meeting.  With  these  maintained,  the  pros- 
perity of  the  future  is  assured,  for,  while  old  age  with  all  its 
weaknesses  comes  to  men  with  the  passing  years,  the  lapse  of 
time,  if  rightly  used,  should  make  a  community  or  a  nation 
stronger  and  more  enduring. 

"  Temporary  success  may  come  from  many  causes,  but,  in 


GOVERNOR'S  DAY  291 

the  long  run,  it  is  character  which  counts,  not  only  in  the 
individual,  but  in  the  nation  as  well. 

"  A  few  weeks  ago  I  visited  the  site  of  old  Panama,  a  city 
on  the  Isthmus  to  which  it  gave  its  name.  It  was  founded  in 
conquest  and  plunder,  a  century  before  the  Pilgrims  landed  at 
Plymouth  Rock.  A  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  in  conquest 
and  plunder,  Morgan  and  his  pirate  crews  swept  it  from  the 
earth ;  and  now,  nothing  but  an  old  church  and  tower,  almost 
hidden  in  the  tropical  jungle,  mark  the  spot  where  this  once 
flourishing  and  populous  city  stood. 

"  A  few  years  ago  I  walked  from  the  ruined  palaces  of  the 
Cffisars  down  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  Hill  into  the  Roman 
Forum.  The  way  was  paved  with  stones  which  were  put  there 
twenty-six  hundred  years  ago  by  the  shepherds  and  farmers 
as  the  stones  with  which  their  streets  were  paved,  and  their  de- 
scendants, imitating  those  virtues,  ruled  the  world  for  a  thou- 
sand years.  But  at  last,  licentiousness,  extravagance,  and  lust 
from  the  Alban  Hills.  Their  virtues  were  as  strong  and  rugged 
for  wealth  came  in  and  rotted  the  moral  fiber  of  the  Empire, 
until  the  very  men  who  had  sworn  to  guard  the  nation  sold 
the  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  and  even  the  Empire  itself, 
at  public  auction  at  the  city  gates,  as  cattle  and  sheep  were  sold 
in  the  open  market ;  and  Rome  fell  from  its  high  estate  never 
to  rise  again.  It  was  a  literal  exemplification  of  the  proverb 
which  was  old  even  then,  that  '  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation, 
but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people.' 

"  But  why  multiply  illustrations  ?  The  history  of  the  world 
is  full  of  them,  and,  on  the  other  side,  none  more  marked  than 
is  shown  in  our  own  land  in  the  marvelous  progress  which  the 
New  South  has  made  since  the  curse  of  human  slavery  was 
lifted  from  her  in  the  desolation  and  horror  of  the  Civil  War. 

"  This  town,  this  State,  this  nation  is  just  exactly  what 
you  and  I,  as  individuals,  are  making  it  to-day.  The  past 
is  unchangeable,  the  future  is  in  the  hands  of  God.  Only  the 
present  is  ours.  We  have  come  in  our  own  experience  to  times 
of  great  unrest  and  discontent  with  existing  conditions.  I 
am  glad  of  it.  It  shows  that  the  world  is  growing  better  and 


THE  BI-CENTENNIAL,  EXERCISES 

that  we  are  not  satisfied  to-day  with  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lems of  yesterday,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  new  prob- 
lems of  to-day  are  unsolvable.  It  simply  proves  that  there  is 
still  room  in  the  world  for  a  large  amount  of  civic  righteous- 
ness and  that  it  is  for  the  individual  citizen  to  prove  that  the 
supply  has  not  been  exhausted. 

"  There  is  an  old  hymn  which  we  sing  in  our  churches, 

"  '  We  are  building,  building  every  day, 
A  temple  which  the  world  may  not  see, 
We  are  building,  building  every  day, 
Building  for  eternity. ' 

So  far  as  the  immortal  and  divine  in  us  is  concerned,  the 
hymn  is  all  right,  but  so  far  as  this  work-a-day  world  is 
affected  by  our  actions  I  would  paraphrase  it  thus, 

"  '  We  are  building,  building  every  day, 
A  temple  which  the  world  can  see, 
We  are  building,  building  every  day, 
Building  for  humanity.' 

"  A  few  days  ago  I  read  a  story  in  a  newspaper  of  a  man 
who  advertised  that  he  wanted  to  buy  a  horse.  In  a  day  or 
two  men  came  with  all  sorts  and  kinds,  young  and  old,  blind 
and  lame  and  halt.  They  told  him  of  the  splendid  records 
of  the  old  hacks,  and  the  great  possibilities  of  the  young 
colts,  till  he  finally  sent  them  all  away,  saying,  '  I  don't  care 
anything  about  your  "  has  beens  "  or  your  "  to  be's,"  what  I 
want  now,  is  an  "  is-er." 

"  The  men  of  New  England  are  the  heirs  to-day  of  more 
than  two  centuries  of  growth,  and  progress,  and  education, 
and  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  to  our  children  to  add  some- 
thing in  our  lives  to  the  sum  total  of  human  happiness  and 
the  public  welfare;  for  there  is  a  mighty  difference  between 
always  trying  to  get  the  better  of  the  community  in  which 
we  live,  and  giving  to  the  community  the  best  that  there  is 
in  us. 

"  From  the  very  beginning  of  our  State,  till  now,  there  have 


GOVERNOR'S  DAT  293 

never  been  lacking  men,  who,  by  their  strength  of  character 
and  devotion  to  the  public  welfare,  have  made  an  impress  on 
their  day  and  generation,  until  at  length  Connecticut  is  known 
among  her  sister  States  as  "  The  Land  of  Steady  Habits." 
I  can  only  refer  now  to  two  of  them,  Colonel  Abraham  Daven- 
port of  Stamford,  and  Hon.  Roger  Sherman  of  New  Milford. 
Of  the  first,  Timothy  Dwight,  in  his  book  entitled  '  Travels 
in  New  England  and  New  York,'  tells  us  that  he  was  a  judge 
in  Danbury  and  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council  in  Hart- 
ford, and  cites  this  incident  concerning  him : 

"'The  19th  of  May,  1780,  was  a  remarkably  dark  day. 
Candles  were  lighted  in  many  houses,  the  birds  were  silent  and 
disappeared,  and  the  fowls  retired  to  roost.  The  Legislature 
of  Connecticut  was  then  in  session  at  Hartford.  A  very  general 
opinion  prevailed  that  the  Day  of  Judgment  was  at  hand.  The 
House  of  Representatives,  being  unable  to  transact  their  busi- 
ness, adjourned.  A  proposal  to  adjourn  the  Council  was  under 
consideration.  When  the  opinion  of  Colonel  Davenport  was 
asked,  he  answered,  "  I  am  against  an  adjournment.  The  day 
of  judgment  is  either  approaching,  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is  not, 
there  is  no  cause  for  an  adjournment;  if  it  is,  I  choose  to  be 
found  doing  my  duty.  I  wish,  therefore,  that  candles  may  be 
brought."  ' " 

"  Such  a  man  would  be  a  success  at  any  period  of  the  na- 
tion's history. 

"  Of  Roger  Sherman,  for  many  years  a  citizen  of  New  Mil- 
ford,  time  would  fail  me  to  properly  speak  of  the  long  and 
distinguished  public  services  which  he  rendered,  not  only  to  the 
community  in  which  he  lived,  but  to  the  nation  at  large. 

"  Some  years  ago,  in  studying  his  life  and  character,  I 
collected  from  the  Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut  every  men- 
tion of  his  name,  and  will  present  the  record  *  to  the  New 
Milford  Gazette  for  publication ;  for,  of  such  a  citizen,  New 
Milford  may  well  be  proud. 

"  The  lives  which  these  men  lived,  and  countless  others  in 
the  early  days,  should  be  an  inspiration  to  us  all. 

*  The  chronology  here  referred  to  is  to  be  found  in  Part  I.  of  this  volume, 
pages  115-118. 


294  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

"  Opportunity  does  not  come  alike  to  all,  but  these  men 
simply  did  their  duty  honestly,  faithfully,  and  well;  and  all 
of  us  can  do  the  same  to-day,  in  full  confidence  that  the  motto 
of  our  dear  old  State  — '  Qui  transtidit,  sustinet ' —  has  not 
yet  lost  its  meaning  or  its  power." 

After  a  witty  speech  by  Rev.  Marmaduke  Hare,  who  spoke 
as  an  Englishman  who  is  an  American  in  the  making,  Mr. 
Beach  terminated  the  exercises  with  these  words: 

"  One  brief  thought  in  closing.  As  the  sun  sinks  behind 
the  hills  of  our  western  horizon  to-night,  we  close  the  second 
century  of  the  history  of  New  Milford;  but  let  us  not  linger 
too  long  in  contemplation  of  the  setting  sun.  Rather,  let  us 
turn  our  faces  eastward  and  greet  the  rising  sun,  which  will 
usher  in  the  third  century.  Yes,  it  will  be  our  privilege  to 
en£er  the  portals  of  another  century,  but  certain  it  is  that 
not  one  present  will  reach  its  exit.  Let  us  press  forward, 
doing  faithfully  each  duty  as  it  presents  itself,  placing  our 
confidence  *  in  the  God  of  our  fathers,  from  out  whose  hand 
the  centuries  fall  like  grains  of  sand.' ' 


Tuesday  evening  was  devoted  to  a  magnificent  display  of 
fireworks  in  Riverside  Park  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Housa- 
tonic,  and  thus,  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  Governor's  Day,  the  last 
of  the  New  Milford  Bi-Centennial,  came  to  an  end. 


THE  great  event  is  over,  and  New  Milford  has  excelled  all  rec- 
ords and  exceeded  all  anticipations.  This  might  sound  ego- 
tistical, were  it  not  a  fact  that  it  is  only  the  plain  truth,  and 
corroborated  by  the  speech  of  everyone  who  witnessed  the 
Celebration.  Our  town  stands  higher  to-day  in  public  esti- 
mation than  it  ever  stood  before.  As  we  look  back,  it  is  not 
possible  to  name  an  event  which  should  have  been  omitted  or 
a  feature  which  should  have  been  added.  A  four-days'  cele- 
bration has  been  held,  covering  every  point  which  such  a  cele- 
bration should  cover;  dignified  and  formal,  where  dignity  and 
formality  were  appropriate,  informal,  happy  and  homelike 
at  all  other  times. 

A  celebration  very  carefully  planned,  ably  financed,  and 
splendidly  conducted;  with  every  contingency  provided  for 
and  the  most  minute  details  planned  in  advance.  Our  towns- 
people have  shown  that  they  can  accomplish  great  enterprises, 
for  it  is  the  universal  verdict  of  our  guests,  especially  of  those 
who  have  traveled  much  and  participated  in  such  events,  that 
this  was  a  great  enterprise,  never  equaled  in  some  respects,  and 
never  excelled  in  the  matter  of  perfect  appointment.  Our 
townspeople  have  found,  too,  that  in  oratory,  music,  and  litera- 
ture they  have  men  and  women  of  whom  any  community  may 
well  be  proud. 

Some  special  points  should  be  noted  regarding  the  celebra- 
tion. Perfect  order  was  maintained  throughout;  during  the 
four  days,  some  sixteen  thousand  different  people  have  occu- 
pied our  streets,  but,  during  all  that  time,  there  has  been  no 
disturbance,  no  violence  or  theft,  no  accident  of  any  kind,  and 
a  very  noticeable  absence  of  drunkenness.  That  such  admir- 
able order  prevailed  is  a  great  credit  to  our  town  and  its  vis- 
itors, and  this  community  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety  and  the  selectmen  of  the  town. 

295 


296  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

Perfect  system  prevailed,  so  that  every  event  occurred  on 
time  and  exactly  as  planned,  with  no  break  or  delay  at  any 
point.  This  fact  appealed  very  strongly  to  our  official  guests, 
who  had  attended  other  similar  events,  and  knew  that  delays 
and  unforeseen  contingencies  almost  always  arise  at  such  times. 

The  decorations,  public  and  private,  were  beautiful  and  ap- 
propriate, and  brought  the  warmest  commendation  from  vis- 
itors. 

The  literary,  religious,  and  historical  exercises  were  of  a 
very  high  class.  Every  address  and  sermon  being  most  ap- 
propriate to  the  occasion  and  excellent  of  its  kind. 

The  musical  programme  was  splendidly  conceived  and  carried 
out,  and  high  praise  is  due  the  committee,  the  chorus,  and, 
especially,  Professor  Edwin  G.  Clemence. 

The  pleasure  and  success  of  the  Celebration  were  very  largely 
added  to  by  the  presence  of  Gartland's  Tenth  Regiment  Band 
of  Albany  during  the  entire  four  days.  Such  splendid  band 
and  orchestral  music  was  never  heard  here  before. 

The  Loan  Exhibit  was  a  great  success ;  admirably  managed 
and  very  greatly  admired. 

The  spectacular  features  were  beyond  any  criticism.  Both 
parades  were  perfect  in  appearance  and  in  management,  and 
the  fireworks  received  the  highest  praise.  The  Civic  and  Mili- 
tary Parade  was  a  surprise  to  everyone ;  newspaper  men  and 
guests,  who  had  seen  the  world's  greatest  parades,  declared 
that  the  School  Division  had  never  been  equaled  in  originality 
and  attractiveness.  Our  prominent  visitors  stated  that,  while 
a  great  city  undoubtedly  could  do  as  well,  no  great  city  evei 
had  done  as  well. 

New  Milford  has  won  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of  thou- 
sands, and  has  gained  vastly  in  civic  pride  and  public  spirit ; 
may  these,  and  the  good  feeling  engendered  by  the  Celebration, 
last  for  the  next  two  hundred  years. — New  Milford  Gazette. 


The  day  after  the  close  of  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration, 
the  President  of  the  Bi-Centennial  Committee  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter: 


THE  AFTERMATH  297 

"  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  STATE  OF  CONNECTICUT, 

"  HARTFORD,  June  19. 
"  HON.  H.  S.  MYGATT,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  MYGATT  :  Upon  my  return  to  Hartford,  I 
want  to  say  just  a  few  words  to  you  in  appreciation  of  the 
scope  of  the  celebration  prepared  by  you  and  your  fellow 
committeemen  on  the  occasion  of  the  Bi-Centennial  of  the  town 
of  New  Milford.  It  was  a  success  in  every  particular,  and  re- 
flects great  credit  upon  your  community,  and  upon  the  men 
who  planned  and  carried  it  out. 

"  For  myself,  personally,  and  the  members  of  my  staff,  let 
me  say  we  enjoyed  every  minute  of  our  visit,  and  appreciate 
to  the  fullest  extent  the  hearty  welcome  and  the  unfailing 
courtesy  of  your  people. 

"  It  was  a  source  of  regret  to  me,  and  I  learned  from  others 
that  it  grieved  them,  too,  that  you  were  ill  and  unable  to  see 
the  fruit  of  your  thought  and  labor.  I  hope  it  will  be  a 
gratification  to  you  to  know  that  what  you  wrought  was  so 
well  carried  out  by  those  who  took  up  the  work  and  followed 
your  plans.  You  have  reason  to  feel  very  proud  of  the  whole 
affair,  and  I  trust  that  you  will  soon  be  restored  to  health  and 
strength,  and  be  able  to  return  to  your  delightful  home  town. 

"  With  best  wishes,  I   am   sincerely  yours, 

"  ROI/LIN  S.  WOODRUFF." 

The  same  day,  the  following  letter  came  to  Charles  M.  Beach : 

"  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  STATE  OF  CONNECTICUT, 

"  HARTFORD,  June  19. 
"  MR.  CHARLES  M.  BEACH,  New  Milford,  Ct. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  BEACH  :  Upon  my  return  to  Hartford  I 
want  to  congratulate  you  and  your  fellow  committeemen,  and, 
in  fact,  the  entire  town,  upon  the  magnificent  celebration  of 
New  Milford's  Bi-Centennial.  I  wish  also  to  thank  you  for 
your  unfailing  courtesy  and  your  thoughtfulness  for  the  com- 
fort of  myself  and  staff  during  our  delightful  stay  there. 

"  I  enjoyed  it  myself  very  much,  and  I  am  proud  that  Con- 


298  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES 

necticut  holds  New  Milford  as  one  of  her  communities.  The 
enterprise  of  your  citizens,  and  the  scope  of  their  celebration, 
is  equal  to  what  much  larger  places  might  have  attempted,  but 
few  of  New  Milford's  size.  We  shall  remember  our  visit  there 
with  much  satisfaction. 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  ROLLIN  S.  WOODRUFF." 

Another  letter  of  similar  purport  came  to  H.  LeRoy  Ran- 
dall (Chairman  of  the  Bi-Centennial  Finance  Committee)  a 
few  days  later: 

"  DANBURY,  June  22,  1907. 
"  H.  LEROY  RANDALL,  ESQ.,  New  Milford,  Conn. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  New  Milford  has  reason  to  feel  proud  over 
the  success  of  the  Bi-Centennial.  The  Governor  said  he  had 
the  time  of  his  life,  and  so  say  we  all  of  us. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  J.  Moss  IVES, 
"Of  the  Governor's  Staff." 


The  work  of  the  Finance  Committee  and  Treasurer  was  not 
only  of  the  most  vital  importance  to  the  success  of  the  Bi-Cen- 
tennial,  but  was  so  remarkable  in  many  ways  as  to  deserve  a 
chapter  to  itself. 

When  the  first  estimates  of  cost  were  made,  about  $4000 
was,  in  round  figures,  the  amount  asked  for.  To  many  this 
seemed  a  large  sum  to  raise  by  subscription,  but  the  Finance 
Committee  stated  without  hesitation  that  the  amount  would  be 
raised,  and  more  if  needed;  and  the  promise  was  made  good 
by  a  total  subscription  of  about  $5000,  secured  in  an  almost 
incredibly  short  time.  This  was  accomplished  without  any 
noise  or  public  display,  and  was  the  result  of  careful  planning 
and  perfect  system.  The  funds  were  paid  out  by  the  Treasurer 
to  the  several  committees,  on  approval  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  a  most  accurate  and  detailed  account  of  all  ex- 
penditures was  kept  by  the  Treasurer,  and  may  be  inspected 
by  subscribers  at  any  time.  There  remained  a  substantial  bal- 
ance on  hand  after  all  bills  were  paid,  and  while  this  will  prob- 
ably be  devoted  to  publishing  the  Book  of  the  Bi-Centennial, 
the  sales  of  the  volume — when  published — should  return  to  the 
treasury  the  amount  expended,  and  more.  No  appropriation 
was  asked  for  from  the  town  treasury,  and  the  only  items  of 
expense  met  by  the  town  were  the  necessary  ones  of  decorating 
its  own  buildings  and  furnishing  the  police  force  during  the 
Celebration.  It  is  safe  to  state  that  no  enterprise  of  this  na- 
ture was  ever  more  ably  and  successfully  financed  than  was  the 
New  Milford  Bi-Centennial  of  1907. 


299 


INDEX 


NOTE.  Names  given  in  lists,  such  as  soldiers  in  the  wars,  members  of 
committees  and  contributors  to  the  loan  exhibit,  may  be  found  by  ref- 
erence to  the  pages  under  "  Soldiers,"  "  Committees,"  "  Loan  Exhibit," 
etc. 


Adams,  John,  16 

Addis,  John  F.,  276 

Addresses 

Charles  M.  Beach,  283,  285,  288 
Simeon  E.   Baldwin,  232 


Band,  94,  137,  296 
Banks,  94,  95,  112,  113 
Barnes,  Andrew  G.,  86 
Bartlett,  Isaiah,  3,  98 
Barton,  Edward,  88 


Rev.  George  S.  Bennitt,  171,  208,    Bassett,  Abigail,  26,  27,  28,  29 


215 

Daniel  Davenport,  255 
Charles  N.  Hall,  137 
Samuel  Hart,  228 
Ebenezer  J.  Hill,  290 
Rev.  John  T.  Huntington,  171 
W.  Frank  Kinney,  170 
Rev.   Timothy  J.  Lee,  284 
Edwin  W.  Marsh,  171 
Timothy  D wight  Merwin,  171 
Rev.  Watson  L.  Phillips,  288 
Rev.  Charles  J.  Ryder,  202,  208 
Henry  C.  Sanford,  171 
Frederic  W.  Williams,  228,  232 
Rollin  S.  Woodruff,  286 
Boardman  Wright,  171 
Frederick  A.  Wright,  202 

Adelphi  Institute,  92,  112 

Agriculture,  84 

Allen,  Ethan,  42 

Andrews,  Governor,  76 

Anthony,  George  W.,  87 

Aunty    Thatcher,  79 

Automobile  Parade,  226 

Averill,  J.  K.,  93,  112 


Baldwin,  Albert  N.,  112 
Ashel,  32 
Hezekiah,   32,  33 
Israel,  32,  33,  104,  107 
Jared,  42 
John,  42,  226 
Jonas,  42 
Jonathan,  98 
Josiah,  33 
Judthon,  40 
Simeon,  105,  106,  107 
Simeon  E.,  232 
Theodore,  42 
Theophilus,  102 


Alice  Canneld,  26 

Josiah,  26,  28,  79 
Battles 

Danbury  Alarm,  39,  40 

Germantown,  42 

Heights  of  Abraham,  34 

Kipps  Bay,  35 

Monmouth,  42 

Mud  Forts,  42 

Princeton,  39,  42 

Saratoga,  42 

Siege  of  Boston,  35 

Stony  Point,  42 

Ticonderoga,  42 

Trenton,  39 

White  Plains,  35 
Beach,  Charles  M.,  297,  283,  285,  288 

Rev.  Mr.,  12 
Beard,  Samuel,  100 
Beebe,  Samuel,  99 
Beecher,  Eleazer,  110 
Beeman,  Hannah,  14 
Bennett,  Caleb,  104 

James,  33 
Bennitt,   Rev.    George   S.,   171,   208, 

215 

Benson,  Henry,  110 
Bentley,  Charles  P.,  139 
Black,  Mrs.  William  D.,  9,  90,  93 

William  D.,  19,  90 
Blaisdell,  Roger,  36,  38,  39 
Blatchford,  Elnathan,  32 
Blizzard,  113 
Board  of  Trade,  13,  97 
Boardman,  Daniel,  4,  8,  9,  14,  101, 
108,  109 

Rev.  Daniel,  99,   100 

David  S.,  20,  111 

Homer,   109 

Rev.  Mr.,  34 

Sherman,  14,  104,  105,  107 


301 


302 


INDEX 


Bolles,  Joshua  A.,  93,  94 
Booth,  Charles  H.,  95 

Henry  W.,  95 

Reuben,   104,   106 
Booth's  Assembly  Room,  17 
Bostwick,  Amos,  41 

Benjamin,  41,  98 

Bushnell,   104,   109 

Daniel,  98 

Ebenezer,  41 

Elisha,  41,  109 

Elijah,  41 

Henry  S.,  87 

Mrs.  Henry,  11 

Isaac,  35,  36,  39,  40,  41,  43,  103 

Israel,  41 

Joel,  41 

John,  98,  99,  101,  102 

John,  Jr.,  98,  99 

Joseph,   102 

Nathan,  108 

Nathaniel,  101 

Oliver,  41 

Ruben,  32,  106,  107 

Robert,  107 

Samuel,  13,  104 

Solomon,  41 

Solomon  E.,  113 

Walter  B.,  87 

Zadock,  32 

Botsford,  Nathan,  13 
Bounty  for  Continental  Service,  105 
Breinig,   David   E.,   91 
Bridges,   8,   90,    101,    102,   103,    108, 

109,  110,  111,  112,  113 
Bridgewater,  84,  86,  93,  112,  171 
Bridgewater  Society,  86,  93 
Bristol,  Mrs.  Andrew,  92,  113 

Mrs.  Isaac,  226,  227 

Isaac  B.,  87,  95 
Brooks,  Thomas,  103,  107 
Brookfield,  84,   107 
Bronson,  John,  32 
Brownson,   Benjamin,   105,   106,   107 

Roger,  98 

Samuel,  98,  99,  100 

Thomas,  104 
Buck,   Barrall,  32 

David,  32 

Ephraim,  107,  108 
Buckingham,  Earl,  94,  112 
Buell,  David,  33,  36,  38,  39,  40,  42, 

43 

Burying  Ground,  100,  101,  103,  107 
Buttonmaking,  87,  113 


Cablegram,  173 
Calhoun,  George  B.,  91 
Newell,  97 


Callahan,   Francis,  86 
Camp,  Abram,  104,  107 

Israel,  107,  108 
Canfleld,    Alanson,    77 

Amos,  41 

Ezra,   41 

Herman,  108 

Jeremiah,  33,  104,  106 

John,  42 

Joseph,  33,  103 

Josiah,  33,  42 

Moses,  42 

Nathaniel,  42 

Samuel,   16,  34,  42,  101,  102,  104, 

106,  108,  109 
Carr,  Mrs.  Helen,  15,  16 
Chittenden,    Frederick    G.,    94 

Stephen,  Jr.,   108 
Church  organized,  100 
Church  singing,  13 
Churches,  4,  9,  10,  93,  109 

Advent,   12 

Baptist,  108,  110,  111 

Congregational,  10,  12,  102,  111, 
114 

Episcopal,  12,  102,  108,  109,  113 

Methodist,  12,  110 

Methodist  Episcopal,  110,  112 

Quaker   Meetinghouse,   101,   108 

Roman  Catholic,  12,  112 

Union,  110,  114 

Civic  and  Military  Parade,   forma- 
tion of,  277  to  283 
Clark,  James  S.,  110 
Clarke,   George,   98 

Samuel,  100 

Thomas,  98 

Clemence,  Edwin  G.,  136,  274,  296 
Cogswell,  William,  104 
Collings,  David,  32 
Colonial  Reception,  275 
Commercial  Club,  97,  276 
Committee     on    Colonial    Features, 
128,  134 

Colonial  Reception,  123,  130,  134, 
275;  Assistants,  275 

On  Decoration,  123,  129,  133 

District,   131,   132,   133 

Executive,  123,  128,  130 

On  Exercises,  123,  128,  131 

Finance,  123,  128,  130,  299 

General  Arrangements,  122,  123 
to  128 

On  Historical  Research  and  Per- 
manent Publication,  123,  130, 
133 

Of  Inspection  and  Correspond- 
ence, 104,  105 

Of  Inspection  on  Provisions, 
107 


INDEX 


303 


Committee — Continued 

Of  Invitation,  Reception  and  En- 
tertainment, 123,  129,  133,  170, 
275,  276 

Loan  Exhibit,   123,  130,   134 
Nominating,  122 
On    Public    Health    and   Comfort, 

134 

On  Public  Safety,  123,  130,  133 
On  Publicity,  123,  129,  133 
On   Refreshments,  123,  129 
On    Religious     Observances,     123, 

131,  133 

On  Vocal  Music,  123,  130,  134 
Comstock,   John,   104 

Samuel,  102,  104 
Confederacy,   articles   of,  voted   on, 

105 
Couch,  Ebenezer,  34,  35,  39,  44,  103, 

105 

Crossing  the  Delaware,  39 
Curtis,  Lewis  F.,  90 
Cushman's  Tavern,  43 

Daton,  Daniel,  32 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, Roger  Sherman  Chapter, 
114 

Davenport,  Daniel,  255 

Dayton,  Abraham,  106,  107 
Nathan,  106 

DeForest,  Isaac,  106 

Delegates  in  Congress,  105 

Delevan,  Marcus  L.,  93 

Douglas,  Dominie,  32 

Drinkwater,  Thomas,  34 
William,  33,  39,  40 

Dunlap,  Robert,  226,  227 

Earliest  settlers,  3,  4,  98 
Ecclesiastical  Society,  1*5 
Electric  light,  90,  114 
Ellis,  Rev.  Elisha  J.,  196 
Emmons,  Edwin  J.,  95 
Erwin,  Robert,  93 

Silas,  95 
Everett,  Daniel,  16,  104,  106,  107 

Fairchild,  Jesse,  32 
Ferriss,  Joseph,  101 

Sarah,  98 

Zachariah,  3,  32,  98,  99 
Fires,  21,  96,  112,  114 
Fire  Company,   95,   96,   111 
Fire   Department,  276 
Fireworks,  294 
Fisher,  Beatrice,  226 

Moses,  32 
Flag,   139 

Pole,  133,  139 


Garlicks,  Henry,  89 

Gas,  90 

Gaylord,  Benjamin,  104,  105,  107 

Deacon,  42 

Ebenezer,  107 

Homer,  89 

Nathan,  106 

Peter,  89,  109 

William,  99,  100,  101,  102 
Gaylordsville,  84,  89 
Giddings,  Franklyn  Henry,  93 

Levi  P.,  3,  8,  90 

Minot  S.,  7 
Gillett,  William,  101 
Grand  List,  101 
"  Green,"  The,  11,  18,  19,  21 
Green,  General,  40 

Seymour  S.,  86,  95 

William  G.,  86,  121 
Griffin,  Charles  E.,  90 
Grist  Mill,  88,  89,  90,  100,  106,  109, 

113 
Griswold,  John,  100 

Rev.  Stanley,  108 
Good  Shepard's  Lodge,  113 
Gould,  William,  32 
Governor's  Day,  277 

Hall,  Charles  N.,  137,  173 

David,  32 

Elijah,  85,  89,  109 

Perry,  85 
Hanke,  E.  W.,  87 
Hare,  Rev.  Marmaduke,  208 

Rev.  Samuel,  181 
Hart,  Samuel,  228 
Hats  manufactured,  86,  110 
Hartwell,  Joseph,  107 
Hawley,  Benjamin,  32 

Joseph  R.,  94 

Nehemiah,  107 
Hayes,  Abraham,  108 
Heacock,  Rev.  Stephen,  202 
Highways,  100,  112 
Hill,  Albert  S.,  88,  112 

Merritt  W.,  87 

Samuel  R.,  139 

Samuel  R.  Jr.,  139 
Hine,  Abel,  104,  106 

Anan,  110 

Edward  S.,  226 

Frank,  173 

Henry  D.,  226,  227 

James,  11,  95,  108 

Noble,  107 

Walter  C.,  134 
Hinman,  Colonel,  33 
Historical  Meeting,  228 
Hitchcock,  Isaac,  32 

Samuel,   99 


304 


INDEX 


Hoar,  George  F.,  94 

"  Home,"  by  Mary  Murdoch  Mason, 

172 
Hotchkiss,   Ebenezer,   104,   105,   106, 

107 

Housatonic  Agricultural  Society,  112 
Housatonic    Institute,   92,    112 
Hungerford,  J.  Edwin,  97 
Huntington,  Rev.  John  T.,  171 
Indian  Deed,  98 

Industries 

Agricultural,  84 

Buttonmaking,  87,  113 

Electric  light,  90,  114 

Gas,    90 

Grist   Mill,   88,   89,   90,    100,    106, 
109,  113 

Hatmaking,  86,  110 

Iron  Works,  89,  102 

Lime  Works,  90,  114 

Lounges,  87 

Machinery,  88,  111 

Paper,  88,  112 

Pottery,  91 

Plows,  89,  109 

Saw  Mill,  88,  89,  106,  109 

Tobacco,  85 

Wood  Finishing,  91,  114 

Wool  and  Linen,  89 
Ingersoll,  Briggs,  108 
Ingleside  School,  9,  93 
Iron  Works,  89,  102 
Isbell,  Robert  H.,  87 
Ives,  J.  Moss,  298 

Jacklin,  Phil,  80 
Jackson,  George  H.,  97 

Uri,  107 
Jones,  Joseph,  32 

Mayor,  15,  16 

Johnson,    Rev.   Frank   A.,   137,   195, 
203 

J.  R.,  93 

Moses,  32 
Jumel  Mansion,  36 

Kent,  4 

Kindergarten,  113 

Kinney,  W.  Frank,  170,  276 

Mrs.  Sara  T.,  94 
Knapp,  Frederick,  131 

Levi  S.,  108 

Residence,  3,  10 

Lafayette,  General,  15,  105 

Lake',  H.,  226 

Landon,   William   P.,  88 

Lane,  Jared,  103 

Law,  Jonathan,  99 


Lazarus,  Dandy,  79 
Leach,  Ray  W.,  95 
Leavitt,   Rufus,  87 
Lee,   Rev.  Timothy  J.,  283 
Letter,  173,  297,  298 
Lewis,  Thomas,  107 
Lime  Works,  90,  114 
Lines,  C.  W,  226 
Loan  Exhibition,   140 

List  of  Exmbits,  141  to  169 
Lombardy  Poplar,  103 
Lonetown,  4 
Long,  C.  F.,  226 
Longevity,  76,  81  to  83 
Lounges  manufactured,  87 
Lynes,  Joseph,  32 

Machinery,  88,  111 
Mail  delivery,  18 
Marsh  Chauncey  B.,  89 

Daniel,  95,  111 

Edwin  W.,  171 

Egbert,   93 

Mason,  Mary  Murdoch,  171 
Masonic  Hall,  276 
Masters,  Nicholas,  16 

Nicholas  S.,  108 
McAllister,  94 
McDougall,  General,   105 
McMahon,  Albert  H.,  95 

George,  85 

Meetinghouse,  first,  10 
Memorial     Hall     and     Library,     9S, 

114 

Memorial  Tablet,  114 
Merwin,  Samuel,  107 

Samuel,  Jr.,  106 

Sylvanus,  110 

Timothy  Dwight,  171 
Miles,  Justus,  88 

Tavern,  88 
Milford  Company,  3 
Morgan,  42 

Mosher,  Lewis  W.,  139 
Murphy,  J.  E.,  226 

Robert  E.,  95 
Mygatt,  Andrew  B.,  95 

Eli,  95 

Henry  S.,  91,  95,  173,  297 

Roland  F.,  95 

Neck,  The,  84 

Newbury  Society,  84,  102,  107 
New  Milford  Cadets,  139,  276 
New  Milford,  became  a  town,  8 

Original   extent   of,  84 

Owners  of,  22,  23 

Plantation,   8,  98 
New  Preston  Society,  8^ 
Newspapers,  93,  112,  113 


INDEX 


305 


Nicholson,  Angus,  89 
Noble,  Asahel,  106,  107 

Charles  H.,  95,  96 

David,  100 

George  B.,  226 

Gifford, 139,  276 

John,  3,  8,  9,  14,  31,  98,  99,  100 

John,  Jr.,  3,  98  101 

Lyman,  39 

Russell  B.,  96 

Stephen,  31,  99,  101,  102 

William,  40 

Zadock,  104 

Purchase,  100 
Northrop,  Amos,  104,  106 

David,  88 

Jasper  A.,  88,  111 

Joseph,  102 

Roswell,  88,  111 

Sheldon,  88,  111 

Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  276 

Old  Sugar  House  Prison,  37 

"  Our   Forefathers,"   by   Charles   N. 

Hall,  1<6 

Oviatt,  Thomas,  32 
Owners  of  New  Milford,  22,  23 

Palmer,  Rev.  Solomon,  12,  102 
Paper  Mill,  88,  112 
Parade,  Automobile,  226 

Civic  and  Military,  277  to  283 

Marshals,  aides   for,   184 
"  Patent  "    granted,    98 
Payment    for    Army    Service,    105, 

106,  107,  112,  113 
Payne,  Ezekiel,  102 
Peck,  Joseph,  98 
Pendleton,  Daniel,  40 
Pepper,  De  Watt,  87 
Peterson,  Peter,  226,  227 
Phillips,  Chester,  40 

Ruben,  40 

Rev.  Watson  L.,  288 
Plantation  of  New  Milford,  98 
Platt,  Daniel,  20 

Plow  Foundry  established,  89,  109 
Plumb,  Rev.  J.  F.,  202 
Population,  97 
Porter,  Edward  E.,  91 

John,  106 
Pottery,  91 
Power  Company,  114 
Prindle,   Samuel,  3,  98 
Prudden,  Peter,  30 
Public  Library  and  Memorial  Hall, 

93,  114 

Quaker  Meetinghouse,  101,  108 
Quakers,  12,  102,  108 


Railroad,   111 
Randall,  Charles,  95 

H.  L.,  226 

H.  LeRoy,  95,  298 
Read,  John,  3,  4,  9 

Colonel  John,  4 
Redding,  4 
Reed,  John,  100 
Reynolds,  Isaac,  86 
Richmond,  Seeley,  85 
Rivers,  84 
Roads,  110,  111 
Robburds,  Mary,  20 
Roberts,  Gerardus,  20 

Mary,  103 

William,  89,  110 
Robertson,  James  S.,  226 
Rochambeau,  General,  15 
Roger  Sherman  Hall,  3,  94,  113 
Rogers,  Ambrose  S.,  92,  112 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  114 
Ruggles,  Joseph,  101,  104,  107 

Lazarus,  103 
Ryan,  Rev.  Joseph,  200 
Ryder,  Rev.  Charles  J.,  202,  208 

Sabbath  Day  House,  4 
Sabbath  work   fines,   109 
Sabins,  Charles,  20 
Sanford,  David  C.,  12 

Glover,  86,  110,  113 

Harry  S.,  95 

Henry  C.,  171 

Joseph,  86 

Zachariah,  104 
Sawmill,  88,  89,  106,  109 
Schools,  4,  14,  92,  103,  108 
Schoverling,  William,  87,  88 

Mrs.  William,  88 
Seelye,  Benjamin,  106 
Separatists,  12,  103 
Sermons 

Rev.  Elisha  J.  Ellis,  196 

Rev.  Marmaduke   Hare,  208 

Rev.  Samuel  Hare,  181 

Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson,  175 

Rev.  Joseph  Ryan,  200 

Rev.  Harris  K.  Smith,  189 

Rev.  Orville  Van  Keuren,  193 

Rev.  S.  D.  Woods,  187 
Settlement,  3 
Silliman,  Rev.  C.,  110 
Singing  School,  14 
"  Sitting  Down  "  Place,  75 
Shanty  Town,  21,  97 
Sherman,  Roger,  6,  94,  101,  102,  115 
to    118,   232 

Addresses  on,  232  to  255 

William,   94,    102 
Slavery,  20 


306 


INDEX 


Slaves  liberated,  20,  103,  107 
Smith,   David,    106 

George,   104,   107 

Rev.  H.  K.,  87,  202 

Joseph,  32 

Perry,  109 

Reuben,  106 
Starr,  Eli,  110,  114 

Joseph,  103 

Josiah,  106,  109 

William  J.,  18,  34,  80 
Staub,  Nicholas,  90 

Verton  P.,  95 
Stebbins,  Benoni,  99 
Sterling,  Vincent   B.,  85 
Stilson,  Gyrene,  14 
Stoddard,  Gideon,  33 
Stone,   Benjamin  A.,  92 

B.  J.,  112 

Mrs.  B.  J.,  112 

Ithiel,   104,  105,  107 

Lyman  B.,  86 

Mary  A.,  92 
Strong,  Nehemiah,  108 
Sturges,  Everett  J.,  95 
Social  Life,  17 
Societies 

Agricultural,  95 

Daughters    of   American    Revolu- 
tion, 94 

New  Mil  ford  Washingtonian  Tem- 
perance Benevolence,  111 
Soldiers,  lists  of,  32,  33,  34 

In  Civil  War,  54  to  66 

In  Colonial  Wars,  45  to  49 

In  Mexican  War,  53 

In  Revolution,  49  to  53 

In    Spanish-American    War,    66 

In  War  of  1812,  53 
Soule,  David  E.,  86 

George  T.,  226 

Tourney,  88,  95 

Winifred,  94 
South  Farm,  100 
Sunday  School,  113,  114 

Talcott,  John,  4 

Taylor,  George,  110,  112 

Rev.  Nathaniel,  15,  17,  99,  108 

Rev.  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  15 

Mrs.  Nathaniel,  17 

Tamar,  15,  16 

William,  108,  109 
Terrell,   Terrill;    [see   Turrill] 
Thatcher,  Partridge,  20,  103,  107 
Thayer,  Augustine,  20 
Tithing  man,  11 
Tobacco  Raising,  85 
Todd,  Jonah,  104 
Toll  bridge,  111,  112 


Tomlinson,  Henry,  3 
Topeka  Hall,  75 
Tornado,  108 
Town  Court,  97,  114 
"Town  Plot,"  8 
Township  granted,  4,  99 
Train  band,  31 
Transportation,  18 
Treat,  Gideon,  20 

John,  107 

Joseph,  98 

Robert,  98 

Trott,  A.  N.,  226,  227 
Turrell,    [see  Turrill] 
Turrill,    (Terrell,   Terrill,   Turrell), 
Ashel,  33,  41 

Caleb,  26,  27,  28,  29,  33,  41 

Daniel,  26,  28 

Ebenezer,  32,  41 

Enoch,  33,  41 

Isaac,  33,  41 

James,  104,  106 

Joel,  41 

John,  33,  36,  39,  40,  41,  43 

John  S.,  95 

Major,  26 

Nathan,  33,  41 

Stephen,  34,  41,  44 

William,  109 

Zorvia   Canfield,  26 

Ufford,   Abigail,   30 
"  Underground  Railroad,"  20 
Union    Circulating    Library     estab- 
lished,  108 
Upton  Post,  G.  A.  R.  organized,  113 

Van  Keuren,  Rev.  Orville,  193 
Village  Improvement  Society,  18 

Wallis,  Benjamin,  32 
Watson,  E.  M.,  226 
Wallace,  Mrs.,  226 
Wanzer,  Nicholas,  108 
Ward,  Andrew,  34,  104 
Warner,  Colonel,  42 

Elizur,  106,  107 

Henry  O.,  34,  95,  276 

John,  100,  110 

Lemuel,  107 

Martin,  32,  107 

Oliver,  104 

Reuben,   107,  109 

Samuel,   104,   105 
Washington,  General,  35,  36,  39,  84, 

105 

Water  Company,  95,  113 
Water  Witch  Engine  Company,  113 
Water  Witch  Hose  Conpany,  276 
Wayne,  Anthony,  42 


INDEX 


307 


Webb,  Charles,  35,  103 
Weller,  John,  98,  99 

Thomas,   98 
Wells,  Edwin  S.,  88,  112 

Mary  C.,  92,  113 

Philip,  94,  112 

William  W.,  88,  112 
Whiting,  Captain,  32 

Colonel  Nathan,  32,  33 
Whittlesey,  George  W.,  94 
Williams,'  Frederick  W.,  228,  232 

Jehiel,  19 


Wilkinson,  Jemima,  107 

Wilson,  Fred,  79 

Wood  finishing,  91,  114 

Woodruff,   Rollin   S.,  275,  276,  277, 

283,  285,  286,  297,  298 
Woods,  Rev.  S.  D.,  187,  202 
Wool  and  linen  manufactured,  89 
Wooster,  David,  32,  33,  103 
Wright,  Boardman,  171 

Frederick,  A.,  202 

Yates,  Paul,  106,  107 


THE    END 


A    000109343     4 


